Cell Phones Could Be Hurting College Students' Grades And Happiness: Study

The more glued college students are to their phones, the more their grades may suffer, a new study suggests.
Researchers from Kent State University found an association between high frequency of cell phone use and lower GPA among college students.
High cell phone use was also associated with decreased happiness and increased anxiety, compared with college students who used their phones less often, researchers found.
The study is based on more than 500 college students whose daily cell phone use was recorded, as well as their anxiety levels and life satisfaction (to determine happiness levels). The researchers also had access to the students' cumulative GPAs.
"These findings add to the debate about student cell phone use, and how increased use may negatively impact academic performance, mental health, and subjective well-being or happiness," the researchers wrote in the Computers in Human Behavior study.

Relationships could take a hit from too much phone time, too. A recent Brigham Young University study showed an association between heavy texting and relationship dissatisfaction in men and women.
That's a problem, considering a study conducted by security app Lookout showed last year that more than half of smartphone users in the U.S. look at their phones once an hour at least, and nearly three out of four smartphone users say they'd feel "panicked" if they lost their device.