Assessing the Cell Phone Behaviours of Undergraduate Regular University Students: Implications for Counselling

Abstract

The use of mobile phones has become increasingly popular in recent years and it is more prevalent among university students. The widespread usage of cell phones has attracted the attention of many students, thereby increasing their rate of cell phone dependency. This study aimed to describe cell phone behaviours among undergraduate regular students at the University of Cape Coast. A survey research design was adopted for the study. Through the use of the stratified sampling technique, a sample of 2,061 undergraduate regular students participated in the study. Questionnaire adapted from Choliz’s (2012) Test of Mobile-phone Dependence (TMD) was used. The internal consistency, estimated using McDonald’s omega coefficient, ranged from .84 to .95. Means and standard deviations were used in analyzing the data for the study. The findings of the study revealed that students were prevalent in the use of cell phones in sending text messages, followed by surfing of the internet, length of time spent on the cell phone, and use of cell phone as a source of entertainment. It was recommended among other things that students should consciously regulate their use of cell phones so that it does not jeopardize their academic work.