Effects of Cell Phone Conversation on Visual and Auditory Reaction Time in Students of a Medical College in Bangalore

Authors

  • Nandini C.1, Roopashree K.2, Suparna Ghosh1

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.37506/ijop.v8i2.1255

Keywords:

ART (auditory reaction time), VRT (visual reaction time).

Abstract

Background: In today’s era cell phone usage has become so rampant and its being used while doing
different task like driving, working in laboratory or office without realizing the distractions these cell phone
can cause. People are not aware of the consequences these distractions can lead to & also the harmful effects
of electromagnetic radiations emitted by the cell phone.
Objective: To study the distracting property of cell phone use by assessing the visual reaction time in
students of a medical college while conversing over the cell phone. To know the effect of long term use of
mobile phone on visual and auditory reaction time based on history of no of hrs of phone usage per day. To
find out gender difference in VRT & ART .
Methodology: study population consist of 90 medical students, aged above 18yrs who were using mobile
phones were selected randomly. After taking informed consent VRT & ART was recorded using PC 1000
reaction time apparatus .student was allowed to converse on phone for 5 min during which VRT was
recorded. After completing the conversation, once again ART & VRT was recorded. Data was analyzed
statistically using SPSS version 22.
Results and Conclusion: Mean VRT was significantly high during conversation when compared to
conversation before. In comparison with gender, males have faster reaction time compared to females.
So we conclude that simultaneous use of cell phone causes distractions and reduces visual cognition
performance leading to undesirable consequences. Dual tasking should be avoided and everyone should be
educated to use mobile phone cautiously.

Author Biography

  • Nandini C.1, Roopashree K.2, Suparna Ghosh1

    1Associate Professor, 2Assistant Professor, Department of Physiology,
    East Point College of Medical Sciences and Research, Bidarahalli, Bangalore

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Published

2020-04-29

How to Cite

Effects of Cell Phone Conversation on Visual and Auditory Reaction Time in Students of a Medical College in Bangalore. (2020). International Journal of Physiology, 8(2), 98-103. https://doi.org/10.37506/ijop.v8i2.1255