Smartphone Addiction and Its Impact on the Wellbeing of School Students: A Comprehensive Review

In the contemporary digital age, smartphones have become an integral part of students’ daily lives, serving both educational and recreational purposes. However, excessive and uncontrolled use of smartphones has led to the emergence of smartphone addiction, which poses significant risks to students’ overall wellbeing. The rationale of the present study is to examine the growing concern of smartphone addiction and its impact on the physical, psychological, and social wellbeing of school students. The primary objective of this review is to critically analyze existing research studies on smartphone addiction and its relationship with student wellbeing. This study adopts a qualitative review-based methodology, drawing upon previously published research articles from recognized academic databases using keywords such as smartphone, addiction, wellbeing, and students. A total of selected studies were systematically analyzed to understand patterns, effects, and associated factors of smartphone addiction. The findings indicate that excessive smartphone use is significantly associated with increased levels of anxiety, stress, depression, loneliness, and poor sleep quality among students (Horwood & Anglim, 2019; Lapierre et al., 2019). Additionally, physical health issues such as eye strain, headaches, and musculoskeletal discomfort have also been widely reported (Suhag et al., 2016; Alotaibi et al., 2022). The review further highlights that smartphone addiction negatively influences students’ academic performance and social relationships, leading to reduced face-to-face interaction and increased social isolation (Volkmer & Lermer, 2019; Ratan et al., 2022). Although moderate use of smartphones can support learning and communication, excessive dependency results in detrimental consequences for overall wellbeing. The study concludes that there is a consistent and significant relationship between smartphone addiction and reduced wellbeing among school students. It emphasizes the need for awareness, early intervention, parental guidance, and institutional support to promote healthy digital habits. Future research should focus on empirical and intervention-based studies to address this emerging issue effectively.