Relationship of Smartphone Addiction with Lifestyle among Elderly

Abstract

The increasing use of smartphones among the elderly is a notable trend. This study aimed to explore the relationship between smartphone addiction and lifestyle in elderly people. A cross-sectional, interview-based study was conducted on 103 elderly individuals residing in Mysore city, Karnataka. Data was collected using a self-reported questionnaire to obtain information on the socio-demographic variables of the sample, along with the Healthy Lifestyle Questionnaire developed by Bandari et al., (2020). The results revealed that of the total majority (66%) of the participants demonstrated a moderate level of smartphone addiction, higher levels of smartphone addiction were more prevalent among males (26.7%) and retired (21.7%) individuals with no employment, compared to their respective counter parts. A relation was observed between the level of smartphone addiction, the number of hours spent on smartphones daily and participants’ lifestyles (p < 0.05). From the correlation value, it is clear that there was a significant negative relationship between smartphone addiction and lifestyle among the elderly as, it indicates that as smartphone addiction increases life style quality reduces among elderly people. The study concluded that extensive daily smartphone usage (over 5 hours) contributed to higher levels of smartphone addiction among the elderly.