Associating Use of Digital Technology and Self-Reported Health Problems among College Going Students in Delhi-NCR, India

INTRODUCTION: The increased use of digital media among college students has the tendency to cause various health problems based on the duration and medium used. AIM: To assess the use of digital technology and self- reported health problems among college going students in Delhi-NCR, India MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data was collected using a pre-tested and pre-validated questionnaire which was divided into three sections. The first section contained seven questions regarding demographic details, the second contained three questions regarding the device used, hours spent and the type of media assessed, while the third contained twelve questions regarding self-reported adverse events while accessing digital media. Statistical tests involved the Shapiro-Wilk test, Independent samples t-test, multivariate linear regression and the Pearson’s correlation coefficient. The analysis was done using SPSS version 19.0. RESULTS: Responses of 717 students were included in the final analysis. Most of the students were between 17-19 years (53.9%), the primary device used was smartphone (91.8%). Most students used their device for >1-4 hours (34.6%). The most common self-reported symptom was back and/or neck pain (18.4%) followed by sleep issues/ insomnia (17.7%) and headache (17.3). Multiple linear regression model revealed that good knowledge scores were significantly associated with age(p = 0.04) and the duration of device used (p = 0.02). A positive, linear, great strength of association (r: +0.747) and a significant relationship (p = 0.037) was found between self-reported health problems and the hours of device usage. CONCLUSION: It is advised that college students be advised regarding the ill effects of digital medium without taking proper precautions