https://macropaperwarehouse.com/authors/chao-fu/Chao FuHugo -- gohugo.ioen-ushttps://macropaperwarehouse.com/papers/digital-distractions-with-peer-influence-the-impact-of-mobile-app-usage-on-academic-and-labor-market-outcomes/https://macropaperwarehouse.com/papers/digital-distractions-with-peer-influence-the-impact-of-mobile-app-usage-on-academic-and-labor-market-outcomes/<p>This paper estimates the causal effects of mobile app usage on college students&rsquo; academic performance, physical health, and labor market outcomes, while separately identifying behavioral (endogenous) and contextual (exogenous) peer effects in app usage — the first study to do so within a unified empirical framework. The analysis draws on administrative data for three freshman cohorts (2018–2020) at a mid-tier Chinese university, linked to individual-level mobile phone usage records from a major telecommunications carrier covering 6,430 students over four years (excluding COVID semester). High-frequency GPS data, hourly app usage records for the 2020 cohort, and two waves of university surveys supplement the main dataset.</p>