Abstract:
Background: Mobile phones are one of the most common information access devices with almost 31% of the
global population having access. Mobile phones are now in the hands of 2 billion people out of the 6.47 billion people on this
planet. The knowledge on the pattern of use of mobile phones among students will shed more light on the advantages and
disadvantages of the use of mobile phones so as to find ways of channeling the usage into being more beneficial and useful to
the students. The aim is to determine the pattern of use of smartphones among clinical medical students in Bingham University
Teaching Hospital, Jos. The study was a cross- sectional descriptive study among medical clinical students of BHUTH, Jos.
The sampling method was consecutive sampling of all the students until sample size was obtained. A total of 134
questionnaires were distributed and all 134 were duly filled and returned. Results: The analyses of the pattern showed that
majority of the students spend more than three hours on their phones per day. The commonest applications in use by the
students include; Google play store, word documents and blogging applications. Thirteen (10.2% spends >20 hours) on
academic sites, while (6.0% spends > 20hrs) on chatting sites, and (5.7% spends >20hrs) on social networking sites per week.
A lot of students put their phone on vibration during lectures and there is a gender difference in the use of mobile phone. About
one third of the students use their phones at night and most agreed that it is a form of distraction. The study concludes by
recommending seminars on the appropriate use of mobile phone in the university.
