UCuenca Study Links Heavy Phone Use With Lower Academic Performance
Cuenca Expat Staff
A local university study is putting numbers behind something many families already argue about at the dinner table.
El Mercurio reports that a University of Cuenca investigation identified a relationship between intensive mobile-device use, lower academic performance and effects on emotional wellbeing among university students.
The study evaluated 1,200 students from four universities in Cuenca.
What The Study Looked At
The project is called "Evaluacion del impacto de las ciberadicciones en el rendimiento academico, salud y bienestar de los estudiantes universitarios de la ciudad de Cuenca."
It is directed by Luis Otto Parra.
The research focused on students from four fields:
- Computing
- Medicine
- Education
- Law
The team first collected demographic information, then used scientifically validated questionnaires to measure patterns of technological dependence and their effects.
Early Findings
El Mercurio reports that the first results show that more time exposed to social media, apps and video games is associated with lower concentration, higher stress and lower grades.
The study also identified recurring behaviors among evaluated students:
- Compulsive phone use
- Difficulty interrupting connection
- Altered attention
The CIARA App
The research team developed CIARA, a mobile app that records usage time for apps installed on phones without accessing personal content, images or messages.
The tool operates for 12 weeks and sends only connection-time and frequency-of-use data to the institutional server.
Parra said the follow-up showed a reduction in average daily use from six hours to two.
For expat families with teens or university-age kids in Cuenca, the practical takeaway is not "phones are bad." It is that local researchers are measuring the problem and testing tools that may help students cut usage without turning it into a daily fight.
Source: El Mercurio
