Get Connected Or Get Destroyed Adolescents And Mobile Devices In Urban Settings In Tanzania

This study was conducted to assess the impact of the mobile phones among adolescents in secondary schools in Morogoro municipality in Tanzania . Specifically the study determined the influence of mobile phones on students behaviors and assessed the impact of mobile phones on students academic performance. A cross sectional research design was used to obtain data from both primary and secondary sources of information through structured questionnaire from 90 respondents obtained through simple random sampling. The collected data were coded and analyzed by using Statistical Package for Social Science SPSS computer program. Findings revealed that 93.3 of the interviewed respondents access and use mobile phones and 63.3 agreed that mobile phones usage among secondary school students cause behavioural changes. Also the study revealed that students use mobile phones to organize and maintain their social networks 8.9 search materials on internet and organize discussion 54.4 and informing their parents on issues concerning their education 1.1. A number of impacts on using mobile phones were revealed including facilitating engagement of students in sexual affairs 41.1 decline in moral values 43.3 decrease in academic performance 91.1 causing health problems to students 50.0 cause disturbance in studies 47.8 and resulting to time wasting 88.9. This study recommends various measures to be taken by secondary school teachers and parents to minimize the use of mobile phones among secondary school students hence ensuring that students are getting time to concentrate on their studies and improve academic performance.