Mobile Phone Usage Among Government and Private School Students During the Covid 19 Pandemic Case Study of Chandigarh

Abstract

The study explored the mobile phone usage among school students in Chandigarh, newlineIndia. The main objective of the study was to examine how school students accessed and used newlinemobile phones during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study examined differences in mobile phone newlineuse among students of government and private schools, gender differences in usage and explored newlinesocio-psychological dimensions of mobile phone use by youngsters and impact on interpersonal newlinecommunication. The study also examined whether socioeconomic differences impacted mobile newlinephone access and usage among students. The study was conducted across eight senior secondary newlineschools in Chandigarh - four each with government and private affiliation. A semi-structured newlinequestionnaire with both open- and close-ended questions was administered to a survey sample of newline1000 school students from these schools. The analysis of data provided important insights on the newlinemobile phone using habits of school students, what they do with the medium and their motivations newlineto access its multifarious functionalities. The study brought out that students treat mobile phone newlineas an indispensable instrument with a majority saying they cannot imagine their daily life without. newlineThe study pointed to new patterns of mobile phone use among school students during the newlinepandemic. The study found that the pandemic-induced restrictions and school closures led to an newlineexponential rise in mobile phone usage compared to pre-pandemic period since students were newlinemostly confined to their homes. The mobile phone s utility as an instrument for education was newlinean important insight from the study as students increasingly used it for attending online classes newlineespecially during the COVID-19 pandemic period. This was a clear departure from school newlinestudents pre-pandemic categorization of mobile phone use as an instrument for fun and newlineix newlineentertainment and for communicating with friends and family.