Speakers
Description
Many Japanese university students spend a considerable amount of time on their smartphones every day. What is the relationship between smartphone screen time and EFL academic performance? Does excessive smartphone use negatively affect academic outcomes, or is there no clear relationship? The presenters will review the literature on this topic and report the findings from a study of first-year university students. Daily screen time, app-category use, and final EFL course grades are examined.
Abstract section 1: Relevance
The negative impact of excessive smartphone use on students, as measured across physical health, mental health, and general well-being, has been well documented in the existing literature (Nakshine et al., 2022; Trott et al., 2022). More recent research has also examined the relationship between smartphone screen time and academic performance, finding some mixed but primarily negative results (Alzahrani & Griffiths, 2024; Hernández-Chávez et al., 2025).
Abstract section 2: Contribution/research questions
RQ1. What is the average screen time of the authors’ students?
RQ2. What categories are these students spending their screen time on?
RQ3. To what extent is screen time related to final grades?
RQ4. To what extent are smartphone usage categories related to final grades?
Abstract section 5: References
Alzahrani, A. K. D., & Griffiths, M. D. (2024). Problematic gaming and students’ academic performance: A systematic review. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 23, 4062–4095. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-024-01338-5
Hernández-Chávez, A., Hamui-Sutton, L., Muñoz-Comonfort, A., & Sampieri-Cabrera, R. (2025). Effect of the use of electronic media on the cognitive intelligence, attention, and academic trajectory of medical students. Cureus, 17(2), e79513. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.79513
Nakshine, V. S., Thute, P., Khatib, M. N., & Sarkar, B. (2022). Increased screen time as a cause of declining physical, psychological health, and sleep patterns: A literary review. Cureus, 14(10), e30051. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.30051
Trott, M., Driscoll, R., Iraldo, E., & Pardhan, S. (2022). Changes and correlates of screen time in adults and children during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis. EClinicalMedicine, 48, 101452. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2022.101452
Abstract section 4: Outcomes/results
Mean daily screen time was 8.45 hours (SD = 2.67), higher than most studies on this topic. The regression analysis showed that each additional hour of screen time was associated with a 0.48-point decrease in final grades. However, this relationship was not statistically significant (p = .106). For app categories, a statistically significant difference in final grades was found across primary smartphone categories (p = .023). Follow-up comparisons showed that students who selected Gaming as their primary category had lower average final grades than students who selected Social Networking or Entertainment, but the Gaming subgroup was small (n = 5).
Abstract section 3: Content/method
In the Spring semester of the 2025–26 academic year, the authors asked their Freshman English students to complete a Google Form questionnaire. For RQ1 and RQ2, descriptive statistics were calculated. For RQ3, a linear regression was conducted to examine the relationship between screen time and final grades. For RQ4, Welch’s ANOVAs were conducted instead of standard ANOVAs due to unequal sample sizes and heteroscedasticity across groups.
| Title | Smartphone Screen Time and EFL Academic Performance |
|---|---|
| Teaching Context | College and university education |