A plethora of technology platforms currently exist, from social media to online classes; and this explosion of technology have the potential of filling a student’s day. Students experience a fast-paced learning environment and this can be stressful. Some students feel more stress than others and some students have better coping mechanisms than others. Students who transition from academic training into practice as well as nurses who transition to a new job are likely to experience stress. One study confirmed the high correlation of the nursing profession to high levels of burnout, which has led to a shift in focus from the causes of burnout to strategies to decrease burnout and nurses effectiveness (Davis, Lind, & Sorensen, 2013). Stress management and certain coping mechanisms such as social support, physical activity, religion/spirituality, and mindset indicate the potential of decreasing burnout among nurses who practice these coping strategies. Stress and sleep play a role in student’s lives. As they experience decrease sleep this can increase their stress levels (Lee, Wuertz, Rogers, & Chen, 2013). Another study found a negative association between inadequate sleep and academic achievement may actually connected to increased screen time (Faught et al., 2017).
Time spent on the internet and on social media can be habitual. Al-Gamal, Alzayyat, & Ahmad (2016) conducted a study on 587 university students exploring internet addiction and its association with psychological distress and coping strategies. They found a significant positive correlation between high levels of stress and internet addiction.
One study found that higher amounts of screen time usage was associated with higher consumption of caffeine products and a lower consumption of fruits and vegetables (Perez-Farinos et al., 2017). Increased screen time usage has been found to negatively affect sleep in addition to academic achievement (Hale & Guan, 2015). Time spent on social media can distract from students from studying for classes or taking time for personal devotions.
It is important that students learn how to balance all of these modern-day activities of daily living. If they can learn good time management and study skills in college, then it is posited that these good routines will transition into practice in the workplace.
This study was an intra and interprofessional collaborative study with students from the schools of nursing, (BSN and MSN) along with journalism/communication students from multiple universities across the US. The goal of this study was to explore students perceptions of the various modern day activities of daily living and especially screen time.
Methods:
Employing both quantitative and qualitative methods, this study explored the perception of students, from multiple universities, regarding time spent on modern-day activities of daily living. The sample (N= 211) consisted of nursing (RN - BS completion and MSN) and communication/journalism students. Depending on the specific scheduling of course content, at each university, students voluntarily completed both forms of the survey questionnaires- qualitative and quantitative. Students were requested to complete the survey questionnaires on their prefered electronic device: smartphone, iPad, or laptop. Descriptive statistics and qualitative methods were used to analyze data.
Results: Of the 211 participants, when asked how many hours a day they spend on social media, almost three quarters (71%) of the students spent 1 - 4 hours/day while 4% reported spending 5 - 6 hours/day on social media. Only 3% identified spending 7 or more hours/day on social media. When asked about studying 71% reported spending 1 - 4 hours/day studying and 19% spent 5 - 6 hours/day studying and only 8% identified spending 7 or more hours/day studying. When asked about how many hours they spend on screen-time that is non-work or school related 60% reported spending 1 - 4 hours/day on non-work or school screen time and 9% spent 5 - 6 hours/day on screen time and only 5% identified spending 7 or more hours/day on non-work or school screen time.
Conclusion: Nurse educators have an opportunity to equip students with good study and time management skills. Exposing students to information regarding how to balance time spent on social media and time focused on their studies can move them towards their transition from school to professional practice. As nurse educators, it is our opportunity and responsibility to equip our students with good study skills and time management skills. Educating our students on how to manage social media time consumption is a wonderful skill-set to equip our students with as they transition to the professional nursing role.