Frequency of College Student Smartphone Use: Impact on Classroom Homework Assignments

This mixed method study considers the effect of high-frequency (HF) smartphone use on homework behavior. Analyzing 393 surveys and an additional 210 semi-structured interviews conducted with undergraduates, this study explores the relationship between excessive smartphone use and homework at a college in New York City. Bivariate analyses indicate that students who check their phone more than 39 times a day report that smartphone use interferes with homework compared to those who check their phones less than 39 times a day. Semi-structured interviews also indicate excessive smartphone use interferes with homework. Other factors such as employment, number of courses taken, amount time spent at school, family obligations, and socializing all appear to affect if and when homework is undertaken. Nested within this web of obligations and activities is the frequency of smartphone use, which HF smartphone users claim interferes with homework. This research illuminates how often students use smartphones in relation to their daily life and their class assignments. The findings provide teachers, administrators, counselors, students, and other preliminary indication of how smartphones influence the initiation and completion of class assignments. © 2017, Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature.