Digital Addiction and its Effect on Social Interaction among Physiotherapy College Students

Background: Digital addiction characterised by excessive dependences on smartphones , gaming and social media, has emerged as a growing concern especially among young adults. Physiotherapy students who are expected to develop strong interpersonal relationship and communication skills may be particularly affected by negative social and academics consequences of prolonged digital use. Methods: A cross sectional ,survey based study was conducted among 135 physiotherapy students aged 18-25 years from tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth college of physiotherapy .Patients were selected using a simple random sampling method .Data were collected using smartphone addiction scale. Statistical analysis was performed by using SPSS version 27.0 applying descriptive method to asses relationship between addiction level and social interaction. Results: A considerable proportional of students demonstrated moderate to high level of digital addiction. Students with higher addiction scores reported poor sleep quality , increased screen time , and reduced real world connections. A negative correlation was observed between smartphone addiction and interpersonal communication. Females students scored higher on the addiction scale and participated reporting exceesive use of phones and exhibited lower academic performances and social participation. Conclusion: Digital addiction is prevalent among physiotherapy students and that impacts social interaction ,communication ,and overall performances. The study emphasizes the importance of promoting digital balances through awarness campaigns counselling session and structured time management programs . Encouraging offline activities and peer interaction can help restore social engagement and support for development of physiotherapy students.