Developing and testing an application to assess the impact of smartphone usage on well-being and performance outcomes of student-athletes
Smartphones, particularly social media apps, were highly used by this sample of university student-athletes. Usage was most prevalent during the morning and overnight. Participants generally under-reported usage, when compared to the real-time data collected. Benefits of the mobile app developed for this research include the automatic, non-invasive, longitudinal tracking of objective usage data and the administration of a user-friendly mobile survey. The mobile app shows great promise as it limits participant burden and mirrors the sporadic usage patterns of the iGen.
This is the first known study to track and explore the use of smartphones in a sample of athletes. It will inform a forthcoming large-scale study with 500 athletes that will: (a) fill a gap in the literature pertaining to the use of mobile technology in sport, (b) fulfill the growing need for robust remote data collection methods (apps, mobile surveys, web servers), and (c) propose avenues for new collaborations and further interdisciplinary research. From a practical perspective, findings from this research will help to inform strategies to leverage the use of smartphones to optimize performance in sport.
Tests
You are invited to participate in a novel study examining the impact of smartphones on the development and performance of varsity athletes in the Ottawa area. This study is important because research shows that smartphones can have positive and negative effects on performance and learning, but we do not yet understand how smartphones influence varsity athletes who are under pressure to meet both sport and academic demands.
Please download the consent form:
French: Consent Form Study 2 – Smartphone Project, Revised 09Mar2018 (FR)
English:Consent Form Study 2 – Smartphone Project, Revised 22Feb2018