Digital devices ownership and internet usage characteristics of the respondents, 2024 (n = 403).
| Variables | Category | Frequency (percentage*) |
|---|---|---|
| Daily internet usage | < 2 hours | 144 (35.7) |
| ≥ 2 hours | 259 (64.3) | |
| Facing financial constraints regarding internet usage | No | 153 (38.0) |
| Yes | 250 (62.0) | |
| Duration of digital device ownership | ≤ 2 years | 110 (27.3) |
| > 2 years | 293 (72.7) |
* Percentages are rounded to 1 decimal place.
The authors would like to acknowledge the study participants for generously giving their time to provide the data. We extend our gratitude to Hawassa University for the financial support and resources that made this research possible.
AI-assisted work statement: During the preparation of this work, the authors used Grammarly to assist in refining the clarity and readability of the manuscript text. After using the tool, authors reviewed and edited the content as needed and we take full responsibility for the content of the publication.
MHL and BE: Conceptualization, Investigation, Writing—original draft, Writing—review & editing, Formal analysis. S Alemayehu, DH, TB, TY, HG, MAA, AY, and S Assefa: Conceptualization, Investigation, Writing—original draft, Writing—review & editing. TK: Conceptualization, Investigation, Writing—original draft, Writing—review & editing, Funding acquisition, Project administration, Resources, Supervision, Validation. All authors read and approved the submitted version.
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
This study was approved by the Research Ethics Review Committee (RERC) of Hawassa University (Ref. No.: RERC/11/2024, dated March 27, 2024), and official letters were received from the selected universities in which the data were collected. All procedures in this study were conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki.
Informed consent to participate in the study was obtained from all participants prior to data collection.
Not applicable.
The datasets generated and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon request with no conditions or restrictions for access.
This study was funded by Hawassa University through its annual thematic research grant. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
© The Author(s) 2025.
Open Exploration maintains a neutral stance on jurisdictional claims in published institutional affiliations and maps. All opinions expressed in this article are the personal views of the author(s) and do not represent the stance of the editorial team or the publisher.