Nomophobia and health hazards: Smartphone use and addiction among university students

Abstract

Background:Nomophobia, a state of socio-psychological illness, refers to a fear of lack of access to mobile phone, which is thought to be a modern age disorder that causes negative health risks and harmful psychological effects. This study aimed to determine the relationship between the smartphone use and nomophobia disorder among university students.Methods:The study utilized a cross-sectional method in which 320 students were selected via cluster sampling. Data collection tools included a nomophobia and smartphones use questionnaires. Data were analyzed using SPSS 22 software in two sections: descriptive statistics and inferential statistics.Results:The incidence rate of nomophobia among the students was moderate (3.1), and 73% of the students were moderate smartphone users. Nomophobia had a significant relationship with gender, age group, and level of education; and the frequency of using smartphones had a significant relationship with age group and level of education. There was a positive correlation coefficient between nomophobia and the frequency of using smartphones. The mobile phone use predicted nomophobia with a beta coefficient of 0.402 (P < 0.05).Conclusions:Given the incidence rate of nomophobia disorder was moderate, it is necessary to make preventive decisions and plan educational programs in this regard for the health of university students. Alternative actions are recommended for the treatment in low rate of nomophobia, but drug therapy should be used in more advanced stages; therefore, it is suggested that more attention to be paid to students’ free time and entertainments.

The Association between Symptoms of Nomophobia, Insomnia and Food Addiction among Young Adults: Findings of an Exploratory Cross-Sectional Survey

“…Our results demonstrate that symptoms of nomophobia are associated with symptoms of insomnia. This is consistent with several studies, which demonstrated a strong association between nomophobia and sleep problems (mainly insomnia) [ 3 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 48 , 49 ]. A direct relationship was found between the nomophobia score of medical students and sleep quality, measured by the Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) [ 50 ].…”

“…The relationship between nomophobia and sleep problems is better described. A recent systematic review of the nomophobia literature revealed that several studies demonstrated a strong association between nomophobia and sleep problems [ 3 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 ]. However, age and sex differences in the association between nomophobia and sleep problems were left unexamined.…”

Mobile Phone Dependence among Undergraduate Students of a Medical College of Eastern Nepal: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study

“…However, some studies 11 , 17 have reported that female participants have a higher prevalence of mobile phone dependence than males. In contrast, a study in Iran 25 found the prevalence of mobile phone dependence to be more in males. Bianchi and Phillips 4 suggested that females use mobile for social reasons while males for technology and work.…”

“…This is similar to the findings reported by some previous studies. 14 , 18 , 20 In contrast, study by AzraDaei et al 25 and Mayakal et al 19 found that age was significantly associated with mobile phone dependence. It should be noted, however, participants in the study were aged between 17 and 25.…”

Cellphone addiction explains how cellphones impair learning for lecture materials

“…Research also has linked nomophobia to other mental health disorders such as obsessive behaviors (Daei, Ashrafi-rizi, & Soleymani, 2019;. One study found that excessive cellphone use was associated with obsessivecompulsive behavior and a host of mental health problems such as somatization, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety, phobic anxiety, hostility, paranoia, and psychoticism (Fırat et al, 2018; see also Gonçalves et al, 2020).…”