Loneliness, problematic smartphone use and screen time among medical students in Germany

Lukas Liebig, Hendrik Berth, Erika Balogh, Béla Birkas, Nora Faubl, Erika Zelko, Henna Riemenschneider

Keywords: Loneliness, proplematic smartphone use, post pandemic, medical education, mental health, digitalization

Background:

In the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, loneliness, smartphone addiction and screen time have increased, especially among young people. The extent to which medical students in Germany are currently affected by this as well as the relationship between loneliness, problematic smartphone use (PSU) and screen time have not yet been examined.

Research questions:

1) What is the prevalence of loneliness, problematic smartphone use and screen time among medical students in Germany after the COVID-19 pandemic?
2) How can the relationship between loneliness, problematic smartphone use and screen time can be described?

Method:

Medical students at the Technical University of Dresden took part in a voluntary, pseudonymised online cross-sectional survey in 2022. Group comparisons, correlations, mixed-model analyses and mediation analyses were calculated to describe the relationship between loneliness (3-Item UCLA loneliness scale), PSU (SAS-SV) and screen time (h per day).

Results:

N = 580 medical students (M = 24 years, 73 % female) were included in the analysis. The students had an average loneliness score of M = 4.83 (SD = 2.8) and 17.1 % were categorised as lonely. The average SAS-SV score was M = 24.33 (SD = 8.3), with 17.2 % categorised as smartphone dependent. The students had an average screen time of M = 7.65 h (SD = 2.4) per day. A higher level of loneliness was associated with increased PSU (r = .211, p < 0.001) and increased screen time (r = .108, p = 0.009). The relationship between loneliness and increased screen time during leisure was partially mediated by PSU.

Conclusions:

Loneliness, problematic smartphone use and increased screen time are widespread and significantly associated among medical students in Germany. The results are relevant for future interventions to promote psychological and physiological well being of medical students.

Points for discussion:

How does problematic smartphone use affects medical students in their role as future physicians?

How can loneliness and problematic smartphone use can be prevented in medical school?

What should future studies taken into account if they examine lonliness and smartphone usage among medical students?

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