Overview of Smartphone Addiction Levels in Pre-Clinical Students of the 2021 and 2022 Batchs at the Faculty of Medicine, Alkhairaat University, Palu

Keywords: Smartphone, Addiction, Students Batch 2021 and 2022

A smartphone is a device that enables communication and also

functions as a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), with capabilities

similar to a computer. A mobile phone is used for making phone

calls, while a PDA is used as a personal assistant and organizer

(Muhammad Yakub, 2020). Students use smartphones to search for

information, work on tasks, store study files, and communicate with

many people. Currently, during class hours, from 08:00 to 17:00,

students actively use smartphones to exchange information, and

after class, students continue to use their smartphones to review or

read the materials provided during class. Due to the extensive time

spent using smartphones for various activities, it is inevitable that

smartphone users experience negative effects, one of which is

addiction. The aim of this research is to assess the level of

smartphone addiction among students at the Faculty of Medicine,

Alkhairat University, from the 2021 and 2022 Batchs. This study

employs a descriptive research method. The results show the level

of addiction in the 2021 Batch: no addiction 0, mild addiction 3

people, moderate addiction 9 people, severe addiction 31 people,

and very severe addiction 3 people. The results for the 2022 Batch

are: no addiction 0, mild addiction 3 people, moderate addiction 29

people, severe addiction 32 people, and very severe addiction 4

people. Based on gender, the results for the 2021 Batch are: for

females, no addiction 0, mild addiction 2 people, moderate

addiction 6 people, severe addiction 19 people, and very severe

addiction 2 people; for males, no addiction 0, mild addiction 1

person, moderate addiction 3 people, severe addiction 12 people,

and very severe addiction 1 person. The results for the 2021 Batch

show that addiction is more common among male students. For the

2022 Batch, the results for females are: no addiction 0, mild

addiction 3 people, moderate addiction 23 people, severe addiction

27 people, and very severe addiction 4 people; for males, no

addiction 0, mild addiction 6 people, moderate addiction 5 people,

severe addiction 0, and very severe addiction 11 people. The results

for the 2022 Batch indicate that addiction is more common among

female students.