Nomophobia is characterized as apprehension of being apart from smartphone, which causes the user to seek proximity with the device. The purpose of this study was to explore the prevalence and factors associated to nomophobia among young adults in Athens, the capital city of Greece. A cross-sectional study was performed on a sample of 1408 young adults aged 18–25 years. The questionnaire was anonymous, including the socio-demographic characteristics of the participants, the smartphone uses, and the nomophobia questions. Statistical analyses were done by simple univariable techniques or modeling the data through generalized linear models. Almost all participants (99.9%) exhibited any level of nomophobia, with the moderate level prevailing (57.0%). Women and non-working participants were more likely to exhibit severe nomophobia (adj PR = 1.57) and any level of nomophobia was 30% higher among the participants whose father had no academic degree (p = 0.029). In addition, 59% of those with severe nomophobia had very frequent phone checking (p < 0.001) while 45.8% with any level of nomophobia reported a negative influence on their academic performance. Attention should be paid to early prevention through the development of integrated health promotion programs.

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Nomophobia is a relatively new term describing someone’s fear, discomfort, or anxiety when his/her smartphone is not available. It is reported that low self-esteem may contribute to an individual’s tendency for nomophobia. The aim of this particular study was to investigate the association between nomophobia and self-esteem among Greek university students. The study sample consisted of 1060 male and female university students aged 18 to 25 years, participating on a voluntary basis with an online anonymous questionnaire. Data were collected through “Nomophobia Questionnaire (NMP-Q)” and “Rosenberg’s self-esteem scale (RSES)”. All participants exhibited some level of nomophobia, with the moderate level prevailing (59.6%). Regarding self-esteem categories, 18.7% of the participants showed low self-esteem, while the rest showed normal/high levels. Students with low self-esteem were twice as likely to exhibit a higher level of nomophobia compared to those with normal/high (adj Cum OR = 1.99, p value < 0.001). Additionally, women and students having fathers without a university education had a higher risk of exhibiting a greater level of nomophobia (adj Cum OR = 1.56 and 1.44, respectively, p values ≤ 0.008). It was observed that low self-esteem and nomophobia are closely connected. Further investigation into this particular issue is needed to explore potential causality between them.