Smartphone addiction and its associated factors among students in twin cities of Pakistan

Objective: To determine the prevalence and indicators of smartphone addiction in local population. Method: The cross-sectional study was conducted in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, Pakistan, from August 2017 to August 2018, and comprised school, college and university students of either gender aged 12-19 years. Data was collected using Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Version with a cut-off score of 31 for boys and 33 for girls. Data was analysed using SPSS 23. Results: Of the 702 subjects screened, 422(60%) had smartphone addiction; 242(57.3%) males and 180(42.6%) females. Social networking applications were significant indicators of the addiction (p<0.05). Conclusion: Smartphone addiction was found to be high among Pakistani adolescents.