The number of smartphone users in Malaysia continues to rise. In 2015, the nation had approximately 14.5 million smartphone users, and this figure is predicted to climb to more than 20 million by 2020. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the rate of smartphone use among public university students has risen since Online Distance Learning (ODL) was adopted, and students must adhere to it to stay safe and away from the Covid-19 virus. The aim of this study is to investigate the ergonomic effects of excessive smartphone usage among public university students in Klang Valley, Selangor, Malaysia. A cross-sectional study was conducted, with 200 public university students from Klang Valley taking part. Non-probability sampling was utilized, and data was gathered using a set of online surveys created by Google Form. The data was analyzed using SPSS software version 20.0, and Chi-square was used to examine the association of health problems with MSDs. The majority (46.0 %) are between the ages of 22 and 23, and 55.0 % are female. The Chi-square test revealed that a few factors are associated with musculoskeletal disorders and excessive smartphone usage (MSDs). Excessive smartphone usage has been shown to have a negative influence on human health, both physically and emotionally. Further studies should cover all public universities and schools in Malaysia's area to investigate the influence of excessive smartphone usage during COVID-19 during ODL, as well as other activities, to generate better data and findings.
Abdullah, Y., Sedek, M., Mahat, J., & Zainal, N. (2012). Individual characteristic in online gaming and mobile application use among students in higher education institution: A confirmatory factor analysis. Prosiding Seminar Institusi Pendidikan Tinggi, 1(1), 345-360.
Al-Barashdi, H., Bouazza, A., & Jabur, N. (2015). Smartphone addiction among university undergraduates: A literature review, Journal of Scientific Research and Reports, 4(3), 210–225.
Augner, C., & Hacker, G. W. (2012). Associations between problematic mobile phone use and psychological parameters in young adults. International journal of public health, 57(2), 437-441.
Bakar, M. S. A., & Bidin, R. (2014). Technology acceptance and purchase intention towards mobile phone among youth in Malaysia. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 130, 558-567.
Berolo, S., Wells, R., & Amick, B. (2011). Musculoskeletal symptoms among mobile hand-held device users and their relationship to device use. Applied Ergonomics, 42(2), 371–378.
Bhuvaneswari, D., & Sivakavitha, S. (2017). An intellectual study on preference towards the usage of smartphones among urban population of Chennai city. Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research, 3(9), 894-898.
Billieux, J., Van der Linden, M., d'Acremont, M., Ceschi, G., & Zermatten, A. (2007). Does impulsivity relate to perceived dependence on and actual use of the mobile phone?. Applied cognitive psychology, 21(4), 527-537.
Chen, J., Liang, Y., Mai, C., Zhong, X., & Qu, C. (2016). General deficit in inhibitory control of excessive smartphone users: Evidence from an event-related potential study. Frontiers in psychology, 7, 511.
Coleman, B., Coarsey, C., Kabir, M. A., & Asghar, W. (2019). Point-of-care colorimetric analysis through smartphone video. Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, 282, 225-231.
Eduardo, P. P., Teresa, M., Monje, R., Maria, J., Sanchez, R., & Leon, D. (2012). Mobile phone abuse or addiction. A review of the literature. Adicciones, 24(2).
Emerson, L. C., & Berge, Z. L. (2018). Microlearning: Knowledge management applications and competency-based training in the workplace. UMBC Faculty Collection.
Gregorio, G., & Stremlau, N. (2021). Information interventions and social media. Internet Policy Review, 10(2), 1-25.
Hossain, M. E., & Ahmed, S. Z. (2016). Academic use of smartphones by university students: A developing country perspective. The Electronic Library.
Hens, W., Taeymans, J., Cornelis, J., Gielen, J., Van Gaal, L., & Vissers, D. (2016). The effect of lifestyle interventions on excess ectopic fat deposition measured by noninvasive techniques in overweight and obese adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 13(6), 671-694.
Iyengar, K., Upadhyaya, G. K., Vaishya, R., & Jain, V. (2020). COVID-19 and applications of smartphone technology in the current pandemic. Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome: Clinical Research & Reviews, 14(5), 733-737.
Kim, J. H. (2017). Smartphone-mediated communication vs. face-to-face interaction: Two routes to social support and problematic use of smartphone. Computers in Human Behavior, 67, 282-291.
Kim, S. J., & Byrne, S. (2011). Conceptualizing personal web usage in work contexts: A preliminary framework. Computers in Human Behavior, 27(6), 2271-2283.
Kim, Y., Briley, D. A., & Ocepek, M. G. (2015). Differential innovation of smartphone and application use by sociodemographics and personality. Computers in Human Behavior, 44, 141-147.
Kibona, L., & Mgaya, G. (2015). Smartphones’ effects on academic performance of higher learning students. Journal of Multidisciplinary Engineering Science and Technology, 2(4), 777-784.
Kuznekoff, J. H., & Titsworth, S. (2013). The impact of mobile phone usage on student learning. Communication Education, 62(3), 233-252.
Lee, E. B. (2014). Facebook use and texting among African American and Hispanic teenagers: An implication for academic performance. Journal of Black Studies, 45(2), 83-101.
Lee, H. K., Kim, J. H., Fava, M., Mischoulon, D., Park, J. H., Shim, E. J., ... & Jeon, H. J. (2017). Development and validation study of the Smartphone Overuse Screening Questionnaire. Psychiatry research, 257, 352-357.
Lepp, A., Barkley, J. E., & Karpinski, A. C. (2015). The relationship between cell phone use and academic performance in a sample of US college students. Sage Open, 5(1), 2158244015573169.
Li, J., Lepp, A., & Barkley, J. E. (2015). Locus of control and cell phone use: Implications for sleep quality, academic performance, and subjective well-being. Computers in Human Behavior, 52, 450-457.
Longnecker, E. M. (2017). The relationship between smartphone use, symptoms of depression, symptoms of anxiety, and academic performance in college students (Doctoral dissertation, Iowa State University).
Ma’azer, A, H., & S. Jusoh. (2014). Smartphones usage among university students: Najran University case. International Journal of Academic Research, 6(2), 321-326.
Ma’azer, A. H., & Jusoh, S. (2017). The use and effects of smartphones in higher education. Ijim, 11, 103.
Martín-Gutiérrez, J., Mora, C. E., Añorbe-Díaz, B., & González-Marrero, A. (2017). Virtual technologies trends in education. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 13(2), 469-486.
Manzoor, A., Basri, R., Ali, I., Javaid, S., Amjad, M., Amin, U., & Kamran, H. (2020). Smartphone Addiction/Overuse and Its Effect on Dietary Behavior and Lifestyle-A Systematic Review. EAS J Nutr Food Sci, 2, 289-97.
Mendoza, J. S., Pody, B. C., Lee, S., Kim, M., & McDonough, I. M. (2018). The effect of cellphones on attention and learning: The influences of time, distraction, and nomophobia. Computers in Human Behavior, 86, 52-60.
Müller, H., Gove, J. L., Webb, J. S., & Cheang, A. (2015, December). Understanding and comparing smartphone and tablet use: Insights from a large-scale diary study. In Proceedings of the annual meeting of the australian special interest group for computer human interaction (pp. 427-436).
Nath, A., & Mukherjee, S. (2015). Impact of Mobile Phone/Smartphone: A pilot study on positive and negative effects. International Journal, 3(5), 294-302.
North, D., Johnston, K., & Ophoff, J. (2014). The use of mobile phones by South African university students. Issues in Informing Science and Information Technology, 11, 115-138.
Olufadi, Y. (2015). A configurational approach to the investigation of the multiple paths to success of students through mobile phone use behaviors. Computers & Education, 86, 84-104.
Park, N., & Lee, H. (2012). Social implications of smartphone use: Korean college students' smartphone use and psychological well-being. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 15(9), 491-497.
Rozgonjuk, D., Saal, K., & Taht, K. (2018). Problematic smartphone use, deep and surface approaches to learning, and social media use in lectures. International journal of environmental research and public health, 15(1), 92.
Saadeh, H., Saadeh, M., Almobaideen, W., Al Refaei, A., Shewaikani, N., Al Fayez, R. Q., ... & Al-Hussaini, M. (2021). Effect of COVID-19 quarantine on the sleep quality and the depressive symptom levels of university students in Jordan during the spring of 2020. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 12, 605676.
Sharan, D., Mohandoss, M., Ranganathan, R., & Jose, J. (2014). Musculoskeletal disorders of the upper extremities due to extensive usage of hand held devices. Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 26(1), 1-4.
Shoukat, S. (2019). Cell phone addiction and psychological and physiological health in adolescents. EXCLI Journal, 18, 47.
Stollak, M. J., Vandenberg, A., Burklund, A., & Weiss, S. (2011). Getting social: The impact of social networking usage on grades among college students. In Proceedings from ASBBS Annual Conference, 18(1), 859-865.
Tagoe, M. A., & Abakah, E. (2014). Determining Distance Education Students' Readiness for Mobile Learning at University of Ghana Using the Theory of Planned Behavior. International Journal of Education and Development using Information and Communication Technology, 10(1), 91-106.
Tayseer, M., Zoghieb, F., Alcheikh, I., & Awadallah, M. N. (2014). Social network: academic and social impact on college students. In ASEE 2014 Zone I Conference (pp. 3-5).
Tejedor, S., Cervi, L., Perez-Escoda, A., & Jumbo, F. T. (2020). Digital literacy and higher education during COVID-19 lockdown: Spain, Italy, and Ecuador. Publications, 8(4), 48.
Tikoria, J., & Agariya, A. K. (2017). ICT enabled classroom effectiveness scale development and validation: A case of multi-campus university. Knowledge Management & E-Learning: An International Journal, 9(1), 111-127.
Toh, S. H., Howie, E. K., Coenen, P., & Straker, L. M. (2019). “From the moment I wake up I will use it… every day, very hour”: A qualitative study on the patterns of adolescents’ mobile touch screen device use from adolescent and parent perspectives. BMC pediatrics, 19(1), 1-16.
Tossell, C. C., Kortum, P., Shepard, C., Rahmati, A., & Zhong, L. (2015). You can lead a horse to water but you cannot make him learn: Smartphone use in higher education. British Journal of Educational Technology, 46(4), 713-724.
Wang, C., Wang, S. Y., Li, W. H., Dong, X. M., & Chi, G. B. (2013). Study on the mobile phone dependence syndrome and its distribution among 2213 college students in Guangzhou. Zhonghua liu xing bing xue za zhi= Zhonghua liuxingbingxue zazhi, 34(10), 949-952.
Weinstein, L. (2014). The durable slum: Dharavi and the right to stay put in globalizing Mumbai (Vol. 23). U of Minnesota Press.
White, J., & Mills, D. J. (2012). Get smart!: Smartphones in the Japanese classroom. In A. Stewart, & N. Sonda, JALT2011 Conference Proceedings (pp. 328-337). Tokyo, Japan.
Zirek, E., Mustafaoglu, R., Yasaci, Z., & Griffiths, M. D. (2020). A systematic review of musculoskeletal complaints, symptoms, and pathologies related to mobile phone usage. Musculoskeletal Science and Practice, 49, 102196.
Zunjic, A., Papic, G., Bojovic, B., Matija, L., Slavkovic, G., & Lukic, P. (2015). The role of ergonomics in the improvement of quality of education. FME Transactions, 43(1), 82-87.
In-Text Citation: (Yusoff et al., 2022)
To Cite this Article: Yusoff, I. S. M., Halim, M. S. A., Radzlan, R., Badari, S. A., & Jamaluddin, A. (2022). Impact of Excessive Smartphone Usage (ESU) on Online Distance Learning (ODL) From Ergonomic Perspective Among Public University Students in Klang Valley, Selangor, Malaysia. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 12(12), 2266– 2282.
Copyright: © 2022 The Author(s)
Published by HRMARS (www.hrmars.com)
This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seen at: http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode
