Use of Mobile Phone and In-Vehicle Interaction: A Case study among selected students in Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria

Abstract

Mobile phone use among university students is now pervasively altering their social interaction with others. The study investigated the influence of mobile phone use among commuting University Students on their interaction with co-travellers and the environment through which they travel. Three hundred students of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria were purposively sampled to respond to a 10-minute questionnaire. The questionnaire contained questions such as ownership of mobile phones, type and number of phones owned, frequency of usage and the influence of mobile phone usage during transit on interaction between the students and their co-travelers and with the environment they traveled through. Results showed that all the respondents possessed at least one mobile phone. In addition, results revealed a negative correlation between time of use of mobile phone and interaction with co-travelers (α=0.05, r= -0.039) and no significant correlation between length of use of mobile phone and interaction with the environment (α=0.05, r=0.079). The study established that mobile phone intrusiveness has an influence on students' interaction during commuting.