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Introduction: With the inevitable technological boom enforced by the COVID-19 lockdowns and online emergency remote teaching practices, the prevalence of nomophobia (NMP) and smartphone addiction (SA) among adolescents has become a pressing issue, which has come under scrutiny. However, the impact of social media tools usage (SMTU) and digital gaming behavior (DGB) on these phenomena remains unclear since there is little research focusing on the complex interplay among these variables. Regarding this context, the present study aimed to explore the parallel mediating role of secondary school students' SMTU and DGB in the relation between NMP and SA. Methods: In line with this aim, we employed a cross-sectional design with a critical case sampling strategy and collected data through an online survey from a total of 427 secondary school students in Istanbul in the 2021-2022 academic year. In order to test the parallel mediation model, we employed multiple linear regression models by utilizing PROCESS models with 5000 BC bootstrap samples and 95% CI. Results and discussion: Results illustrated that there was an increase in the prevalence of NMP and SA during the COVID-19 home confinement as consistent with the previous research. The results also indicated that among the multiple mediators, the mediating role of SMTU was significant in the relation between NMP and SA. This means NMP has direct and indirect significant impact on SA through SMTU. However, the mediating role of DGB was found nonsignificant in this relationship. Our results are robust and hold key contributions to both theoria and praxis in educational psychology research realm by disentangling the complex underlying mechanism between NMP, SMTU, DGB, and SA. On the practical side, our results provide insightful implications for school boards and researchers in the development of effective interventions.
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There is an emerging shift in human-computer interaction (HCI) research from things to events and towards time and temporality as a design material, which is made even more urgent by the unique time of the COVID-19 period. This paper pushes this shift forwards by investigating factors and the way that these shape online media multitasking behaviour over time during COVID-19. We model the factors along the WHAT and HOW dimensions of the HCI-over-Time model (HCIoT) with self-report data from 117 university students and objective behavioural data from 40 university students, who participated in an online course over 2 weeks during COVID-19. The results indicated a pervasiveness of media multitasking behaviour over time in an online course, driven by individual factors and enhanced by their mutual fit. Based on interpretation of our data, we suggest conceptualizing the COVID-19 period as the larger temporal environment in the HCIoT model. The discussion further explains how the broader idea of human-computer-environment fit is significant to understand HCIoT through an interaction lens. We discuss methodological issues related to differentiating between self-report and behavioural measures when applying the HCIoT model. The conclusion supports the feasibility and significance of conceptualizing media multitasking during COVID-19 as temporal HCI and of further developing and operationalizing the HCIoT model by using both behavioural and self-report measures.
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Purpose: To determine the impact of nomophobia on insomnia and physical activity (PA) levels among physiotherapy undergraduate students. Relevance: We are living through a period where technology is the only connection to normalcy. Reports indicate increased screen time during the COVID-19 pandemic, also due to significant disruption in routine, nocturnal media use has been increased leading to insomnia. As the total screen time increases, users have decreased physical activity, which can lead to sedentarism. Participants: All undergraduate physiotherapy students of Ramaiah Medical College (Department of Physiotherapy), Bengaluru, India were invited to participate in an online survey. 95 participants who gave the consent were enrolled. Methods: Nomophobia- questionnaire (NMP-Q), International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form (IPAQ-SF) and Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) were distributed to the participants as Google forms via WhatsApp. The participant was asked to give the best response of his experience. Data collected was subjected to analysis. Analysis: Responses obtained via Google-forms were screened. The data was categorized and analyzed using Google spread- sheet and descriptive statistics using percentage and frequency distribution was performed. Results: 72(75.78%) students were categorized with moderate-severe nomophobia. 25(26.31%) students had moderate-severe nomophobia suffered from clinical insomnia. However, they demonstrated moderate-high PA level. 21(22.10%) students had mild nomophobia with subthreshold insomnia and low PA level. The results demonstrate significant impact of nomophobia on insomnia, however not on PA level among physiotherapy undergraduate students. Conclusion: The burden of nomophobia and impaired control that compromises the health and wellness were prevalent in physiotherapy undergraduate students. Measures need to be taken to address clinical insomnia in view of the current era of growing information technology. Implications: This study will pave a path for the need of exercises to improve the sleep quality and duration of students who have nomophobia.
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Background and Objectives: Undergraduate medical students are more prone to develop stress, anxiety, and depression;and COVID-19 is an additional source of pressure for them. The present study was conducted with the objectives to estimate the proportion of nomophobia among undergraduate medical students of a tertiary care teaching institute in Kolkata and to find the factors associated with it. Materials and Methods: An observational study, cross-sectional in design, was conducted at a tertiary care teaching institute in Kolkata among 395 undergraduate medical students for a period of 8 weeks. Nomophobia Questionnaire scale was used to measure nomophobia. Data were analyzed using the SPSS software version 25.0. Multivariable multinomial logistic regression was performed to find the predictors of moderate and severe nomophobia. Results: All the medical students had some degree of nomophobia. About 26.8% of them had severe nomophobia, 61.3% had moderate nomophobia, and 11.9% had mild nomophobia. Age up to 20 years and the presence of addiction had statistically significant higher odds of severe nomophobia. Age up to 20 years, the presence of addiction, and up to 6 h' time spent per day with smart phone had significantly higher odds of moderate nomophobia. Conclusion: There was a high proportion of nomophobia among young budding doctors. Those who have already got moderate nomophobia should use smart phones more wisely and judiciously and avoid downloading addictive applications.
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Insufficient physical activity is a common problem for university students because they may engage in sedentary lifestyle owing to excessive time spent on their smartphones and social media use. This may result in problematic internet use (PIU) and nomophobia (fear of not having a mobile phone). Moreover, prior evidence shows that weight-related self-stigma is an important factor contributing to low physical activity. Therefore, the present study examined the associations between PIU, nomophobia, and physical activity among university students across mainland China, Taiwan, and Malaysia. Participants (3135 mainland Chinese, 600 Taiwanese, and 622 Malaysian) completed the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS), Smartphone Application-Based Addiction Scale (SABAS), Nomophobia Questionnaire (NMPQ), Weight Self-Stigma Questionnaire (WSSQ), and International Physical Activity Questionnaire Short Form (IPAQ-SF). The measurement invariance of the assessed questionnaires was supported across the three regions. The present findings analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling showed that (i) greater nomophobia was associated with higher levels of physical activity, (ii) greater weight-related self-stigma was associated with higher levels of physical activity, and (iii) greater nomophobia was associated with greater weight-related self-stigma. Although the present findings suggest the possibility that experiencing some level of nomophobia or weight-related self-stigma appears to help improve physical activity, it is not recommended that these be encouraged, but reducing PIU should be targeted as a means to improve physical activity.
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Exercise , Internet Use , China , Humans , Malaysia , TaiwanABSTRACT
The penetration of smartphones into human life finds expression in problematic smartphone use, particularly under the Covid-19 home confinement. Problematic smartphone use is accompanied by adverse impacts on personal wellbeing and individual performance. However, little is known about the mechanism of such adverse impacts. Motivated by this, the present study strives to answer (i) how bedtime smartphone use impacts students’ academic performance through wellbeing-related strains;(ii) how to mitigate the adverse consequences of bedtime smartphone use. Drawing upon the stressor-strain-outcome paradigm, the current work presents a comprehensive understanding of how smartphone use indirectly deteriorates college students’ academic performance through the mediators of nomophobia — “the fear of being unavailable to mobile phones” (Lin et al., 2021) — and sleep deprivation. This allows a more flexible remedy to alleviate the adverse consequences of smartphone use instead of simply limiting using smartphones. This study collects a two-year longitudinal dataset of 6093 college students and employs the structural equation modeling technique to examine the stressor‐strain‐outcome relationship among bedtime smartphone use, nomophobia, sleep deprivation, and academic performance. This study finds robust evidence that wellbeing-related strains (i.e., nomophobia and sleep deprivation) mediate the negative relationship between bedtime smartphone use and academic performance. Furthermore, engaging in physical activity effectively mitigates the adverse effects of bedtime smartphone use upon nomophobia and sleep deprivation. This study not only enriches the current literature regarding the indirect effect mechanism of smartphone use but also provides valuable insights for academics and educational policymakers.
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Background and objectives: Sleep disorders are a common public health problem among college students. The objective of this study was to evaluate sleep quality and its associated factors in medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and Methods: Cross-sectional analytical study-we conducted a secondary analysis of the survey "Nomophobia in medical students in Peru" database between 2020 and 2021. Sleep disturbances were assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). To evaluate associated factors, crude and adjusted prevalence ratios (aPR) and their 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated. Results: We analyzed data from 3139 participants from 18 cities in Peru (61.1% were women, median age: 22 years). 43.4% had a quality of sleep that could require medical attention; the PSQI dimension with the highest score was daytime dysfunction. The poor sleep quality was associated with symptoms of anxiety (aPR: 1.48; 95% CI: 1.27-1.72), depression (aPR: 2.03; 1.72-2.39), or nomophobia (aPR: 1.28; 1.09-1.51). Conclusions: Sleep disorders were a common problem among Peruvian medical students and were associated with anxiety, depression, or nomophobia symptoms.
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COVID-19 , Sleep Wake Disorders , Students, Medical , Female , Humans , Young Adult , Adult , Male , Peru/epidemiology , Cross-Sectional Studies , COVID-19/epidemiology , Pandemics , Sleep Wake Disorders/epidemiology , Sleep Wake Disorders/diagnosisABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: In the pandemic, along with distance education, nursing students' smartphone and internet usage habits have changed and their duration has been extended. However, the effect of this situation on problems that may develop due to excessive/inappropriate use of smartphones and the internet such as nomophobia, netlessphobia, fear of missing out is unknown. This study was conducted to measure nursing students' nomophobia, netlessphobia, and fear of missing out levels and identify the correlations between them. METHODS: This descriptive, correlational, and cross-sectional study was conducted on 802 students studying in 3 nursing faculties between November 2021 and February 2022. Introductory Information Form, Nomophobia Questionnaire, Firat Netlessphobia Scale and Fear of Missing Out Scale were used to collect the data. RESULTS: The nursing students used their smartphones for 5.13 ± 2.26 h on average per day and used internet from their smartphones for 4.65 ± 2.74 h. They considered themselves as partly smartphone addicts and they were active users on social media platforms such as WhatsApp (97.3 %) or Instagram (82.2 %). The students' nomophobia mean score was 2.98 ± 0.78, their netlessphobia mean score was 2.53 ± 0.87, and their fear of missing out mean score was 2.18 ± 0.80. Netlessphobia alone accounted for 44.4 % of nomophobia and there was a positive and moderate correlation between them (r = 0.666; p < .001). Fear of missing out alone accounted for 18.5 % of nomophobia and there was a positive and moderate correlation between them (r = 0.430; p < .001). Both of them affected nomophobia by 45.4 %. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the increase in the digital activities of nursing students in the distance education process, it is positive that the netlessphobia and fear of missing out scores are low. However, higher nomophobia scores and strong relationships between concepts require being aware of possible problems, monitoring and taking precautions.
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Education, Distance , Phobic Disorders , Students, Nursing , Cross-Sectional Studies , Fear , Humans , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
During the confinement stage by the epidemic of COVID-19 the estres it was increased in people, that which impacted in an increment of the addictions of all nature. The cellular telephones became the communication road with family and friends, but their excessive use is an addiction source. The present investigation was traced as objective: To determine the existence of the Nomophobia in university students of the University Center of the Municipality Cruces, specifically those that study the career of Degree in primary education. The investigation is descriptive and exploratory, for the diagnosis a survey was used, applied to the sample of 64 students, of them 8 belonging to the masculine sex and 56 to the feminine one. It was determined that the entirety of the students ignores the term Nomophobia, 50.0% occupies its intelligent telephone for two or more hours a day, 45.3% has problems in the view for the excessive use of the same one and other affectations to its health like pains in the neck and migraines. As conclusion you detects that Nomophobia exists in students of the Municipal University Center of Cruces, existing ignorance about this suffering and the risk that more students develop this addiction.
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Nomophobia is rising among high school students, especially in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, such as social distancing, long-term online learning, and lack of social support. Many studies have also shown that students with high levels of nomophobia have a higher risk of stress. However, very few researchers are interested in studying loneliness as a mediation factor for the relationship between nomophobia and stress. This study investigated whether the loneliness factor is a mediator in the relationship between nomophobia and stress in Vietnamese high school students. Participants include 556 Vietnamese high school students. Participants completed the Nomophobia Scale, Depression Anxiety Stress Scales 21, The UCLA loneliness scale version 3. In this research, to test variable relationships, the mediation analyzing method by the PROCESS macro 3.5 will be applied. The research concludes that for Vietnam high school students, the mediating role of loneliness was identified in the relationship between nomophobia and stress. It is a suggestion through this research that nomophobia preventive and mitigating measures should reduce loneliness in students.
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Summary. Aim. To investigate nomophobia levels in young Italian nurses and any differences based on socio-demo-graphic variables, such as: gender, age, years of work experience and shifwork. Methods. A cohort observational study was conducted from August to September 2021. Nurses were recruited through Facebook and Instagram nursing pages. Data focused on: gender, age, years of work experi-ence, shifts and nomophobia condition and its relating sub-dimensions, according to the “Nomophobia questionnaire”. Results. A total of 156 Italian nurses were enrolled. Nobody among the participants reported the absence of nomopho-bia;49.40% reported mild levels, 41.70% moderate levels and 9.00% severe levels. Additionally, these findings detailed a more specific image of the nomophobic nurse as: female, aged less than 25 and worked less 1 year, regardless of the shift. Conclusions. There is an urgent need for the nursing community and educational bodies to introduce a more judicious use of smartphones by professionals. © 2022, Il Pensiero Scientifico Editore s.r.l.. All rights reserved.
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This study examined the mediating role of social support in the relationship between perceived stress and nomophobia among Malaysian university students during the COVID-19 pandemic. A cross-sectional study was conducted with N = 547 university students. Participants answered a self-administered questionnaire measuring nomophobia, social support, and perceived stress. Exploratory analyses were conducted using partial least square structural equation modelling. We found that perceived stress was positively associated with nomophobia during the COVID-19 pandemic, whilst social support partially mediated the relationship between perceived stress and nomophobia. The results of this study indicated that stress may be buffered by social support in individuals with higher levels of nomophobia.
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BACKGROUND: This study aimed to: (a) explore differences in the prevalence of nomophobia and smartphone addiction (SA) from pre- to during COVID-19; (b) identify students' self-reported changes in smartphone reliance and screen time during COVID-19; and (c) examine whether self-perceived changes in smartphone usage predicted nomophobia and SA scores. METHODS: Scores on the Nomophobia Questionnaire and Smartphone Addiction Scale between two surveys administered at two timepoints were compared: Sample 1 (September 2019-January 2020; N = 878) and Sample 2 (May-June 2020; N = 258). RESULTS: No significant differences were found between samples on nomophobia or SA. Nearly all of Sample 2 reported using some type of app more, using their smartphone a little more, and about the same perceived smartphone reliance during COVID-19. Increased screen time, smartphone reliance, and social media significantly predicted nomophobia and SA. CONCLUSION: COVID-19 does not appear to have exacerbated the prevalence of nomophobia or SA.
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Introduction: Increased use of smartphones can lead to smartphone addiction and "no-mobile-phone-phobia " known as nomophobia. During an ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) lockdown, to tackle an issue of boredom, many people including undergraduate health sciences students (HSSs) are using smartphones, leading to an increased risk of smartphone addiction and nomophobia. During lockdown, many universities have shifted the mode of learning to e-classes by using an internet-based technology on smartphones, which may contribute to increased exposure to smartphones, leading to an increased risk of smartphone addiction among students. Objective: To assess an impact of COVID-19 lockdown on smartphone addiction and severity of nomophobia among UG HSSs. Materials and Methods: The present study was conducted at a rural tertiary health-care center in Maharashtra state of India with a sample size of 412. Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Version was used to assess smartphone addiction and Nomophobia Questionnaire was used to assess nomophobia. Results: Majority (69.7%) reported inability to concentrate on studies at home due to increased use of smartphone during the COVID-19 lockdown. Boredom (32.8%) was the most bothering thing during lockdown, and to tackle it, 55.8% reported of using smartphone. 97.6% had nomophobia and 45.1% had smartphone addiction. There was increase in the prevalence of smartphone addiction and nomophobia during the COVID-19 lockdown as compared to the prevalence from studies which were conducted in the pre-COVID-19 lockdown period. Conclusion: Appropriate measures should be taken by health sciences universities and authorities to address an issue of smartphone addiction and nomophobia so that students can concentrate on their studies at home during the COVID-19 lockdown.
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Objective: To determine the prevalence of nomophobia or no mobile phone phobia, and to find out its relationship with anxiety and depression among university students. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in a largest university in Southern Thailand, between July 2020 and October 2020. Data were collected using an online self-questionnaire, including personal and educational data, smartphone usage characteristics, the Thai version of the Nomophobia Questionnaire (NMP-Q), and the Thai Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale (Thai-HADS). Results: Six hundred thirty-eight university students completed the online self-questionnaires. The median age was 20 years (IQR 19 to 21 years), 77% were female, and 81.8% were undergraduate student. The prevalence of nomophobia was 76.1%, with the highest prevalence of severity level was moderate nomophobia (59.6%). Prevalence of anxiety and depression were 14.3% and 6.6%, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed the significant factors associated with nomophobia were being female (ORadj 1.64;95% CI 1.072 to 2.521), having anxiety (ORadj 3.47;95% CI 1.604 to 7.510), using smartphones to access social media (ORadj 2.84;95% CI 1.333 to 6.067), and smartphone checking less than every 30 minutes (ORadj, 4.32;95% CI 2.344 to 7.961) and every 30 to 60 minutes (ORadj 1.97;95% CI 1.089 to 3.556). Conclusion: The present study provided evidence that nomophobia is an emerging mental health problem in the university students. The COVID-19 situation may further exacerbate this issue. University students with nomophobia should be carefully monitored for anxiety, especially in female. The present study information is important to reduce smartphone usage and access to social media. © 2022 JOURNAL OF THE MEDICAL ASSOCIATION OF THAILAND
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With the development of technology and the introduction of smart phones into our lives, the new phobia of the age has been Nomophobia, which is expressed as the fear of being deprived of a smart phone. Along with the COVID 19, which has taken the world under its influence, the restrictions brought to control the epidemic and the changes in daily life have made individuals dependent on phones used in all areas of life for reasons such as communicating with their relatives and shopping over the internet. The research was conducted with the online survey method on a voluntary basis to individuals aged 18 and over, who were selected by convenience sampling method throughout Turkey and using smart phones. In the study, the Nomophobia Scale (NMP-Q) consisting of 20 items and four sub-dimensions and the epidemic anxiety scale consisting of 18 items and four sub-dimensions were used.The aim of the study is to examine the level of nomophobia and anxiety of the society during the COVID 19 epidemic period we are in. As a result of the research, while there was no significant difference between the socio-demographic variables such as age, marital status, educational status and place of residence and the participants' nomophobia and anxiety levels, it was concluded that there was a significant difference between gender and nomophobia and anxiety levels. In addition, it was found that there was a significant difference between the state of having COVID-19 and the level of anxiety and the fear of contracting COVID-19 and the level of nomophobia and anxiety. As a result of the correlation analysis, it was concluded that there is a significant relationship between the nomophobia scale and the epidemic anxiety scale. (English) [ FROM AUTHOR] Teknolojinin gelişmesi ve akıllı telefonların hayatımıza girmesiyle birlikte çağın yeni fobisi, akıllı telefondan yoksun kalma korkusu olarak ifade edilen Nomofobi olmuştur. Dünyayı etkisi altına alan COVID 19 ile beraber, salgını kontrol altına alabilmek için getirilen kısıtlamalar ve günlük hayatta yaşanan değişimler, bireyleri yakınlarıyla iletişim kurmak, internet üzerinden alışveriş yapmak gibi nedenlerle yaşamın her alanında kullanılan telefonlara bağımlı hale getirmiştir. Araştırma, Türkiye genelinde kolayda örnekleme yöntemiyle seçilen 18 yaş ve üstü, akıllı telefon kullanan bireylere gönüllük esasına dayalı olarak online anket yöntemi ile yapılmıştır. Araştırmada 20 maddeden ve dört alt boyuttan oluşan Nomofobi Ölçeği (NMP-Q) ile 18 madde ve dört alt boyuttan oluşan salgın hastalık kaygısı ölçeği kullanılmıştır. Araştırmada içinde bulunduğumuz COVID 19 salgın hastalık döneminde toplumun nomofobi ve kaygı düzeyinin incelenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Araştırma sonucunda sosyo-demografik değişkenlerden yaş, medeni durum, öğrenim durumu ve yaşanılan yer ile katılımcıların nomofobi ve kaygı düzeyleri arasında anlamlı bir farklılık görülmezken, cinsiyet ile nomofobi ve kaygı düzeyleri arasında anlamlı bir farklılık olduğu sonucuna varılmıştır. Ayrıca COVID-19 geçirme durumu ile kaygı düzeyi ve COVID-19’a yakalanma korkusu ile nomofobi ve kaygı düzeyi arasında anlamlı bir farklılık olduğu bulunmuştur. Yapılan korelasyon analizi sonucunda ise nomofobi ölçeği ile salgın hastalık kaygı ölçeği arasında anlamlı bir ilişki olduğu sonucuna varılmıştır. (Turkish) [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Ekev Academic Review is the property of Ekev Academic Review and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)
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Background and Aim: Nomophobia (no mobile phone) is defined as a digital era phobia characterized by an excessive fear of not being able to use the cell phone. In the COVID-19 pandemic context, there was an intensification of information and communication technology. The current study aimed to explore differences in nomophobia levels during the COVID-19 pandemic and those evidenced before the pandemic situation. Additionally, we sought to analyze the relationship between nomophobia and variables such as the frequency of use of screens for professional purposes, the use of cell phone management, and to what extent the pandemic made screen use a recurrent practice. We hypothesize that the fact that most of the daily activities took place at home (e.g., teleworking, online classes), there is a global decrease of nomophobia levels. Methods: Cross-sectional study. The sample comprised 288 participants from the general population in a pandemic situation and 500 participants who took part in a survey conducted before the pandemic. All participants completed online the European Portuguese version of the Nomophobia Questionnaire. Results: The nomophobia levels observed during the pandemic situation were lower compared to the pre-pandemic period. There were no statistically significant differences in nomophobia levels by sex, marital status, or recurrent use of the screen. Nomophobia was not associated with age, use of screens for professional purposes, or mobile phone management. Conclusions: Given that most activities occurred at home (e.g., teleworking, online classes), the nomophobia levels during the Covid-19 pandemic were lower. This seems to be related to the global decrease of the fear of not being able to communicate through the smartphone, losing connectivity, not being able to access information and the fear of not having a Wi-Fi signal or running out of battery.
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Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the learning system has changed to online learning. This condition makes students have to use digital devices, even with a more intense frequency. Digital literacy is known to be the key to success in online learning. While nomophobia is a threat on the other hand. Therefore, this study aims to conduct a comparative study of the level of digital literacy and nomophobia in students as participants in online learning. This study is a descriptive with a quantitative approach. The study was carried out in 3 stages, namely (1) preparation of instruments for measuring digital literacy and nomophobia, (2) data collection, and (3) measuring digital literacy and nomophobia. Respondents of this study were 234 students of University of Nahdlatul Ulama Surabaya and several other universities who are participants in online learning. The results showed that most of the respondents had high levels of digital literacy and nomophobia. There are no respondents who are not nomophobic and have a low level of digital literacy. So it can be concluded that online learning has the opportunity to increase digital literacy, but on the other hand there is also a threat of increasing nomophobia. © 2021 IEEE.
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Nomophobia (no-mobile-phone phobia) is a relatively new term that describes the growing fear and anxiety associated with being without a mobile phone. Our study aims to determine the prevalence of nomophobia among the undergraduate students of Pakistan, and to determine its correlation with age and gender. It also aims to determine the contributory factors of nomophobia. A cross-sectional study was conducted through an online survey from March 25 to April 25, 2021. The snowball sampling technique was used for data collection. The Nomophobia Questionnaire (NMP-Q) developed by Yildirim and Correia was circulated among the target population. It was a 7-point Likert Scale that was analyzed on the basis of age and gender using IBM SPSS version 22 and MS Excel 2007. The contributing factors were also analyzed. Of the 483 responses we received, 28 were discarded due to incompleteness and respondents being out of age under study that is, 15-25 years. Most of the respondents were women (n = 314, 69.01 percent). Men were less in number than women (n = 141, 31 percent). The ages of most of the respondents lied between 15 and 25 years. Twenty was the mode age. One hundred eighty-six (40.88 percent) had severe, 221 (48.57 percent) had moderate, and 48 (10.55 percent) had mild nomophobia. Average factor-wise scores and individual item scores were also added. Our findings reached a conclusion that the majority of the undergraduate students in Pakistan suffer from nomophobia ranging from its mild to severe form. Nomophobia can possibly be included as a recognized phobia in the DSM. Wider research on the subject to investigate it further and evaluate the clinical significance should be done.
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Phobic Disorders , Adolescent , Adult , Cross-Sectional Studies , Female , Humans , Male , Pakistan/epidemiology , Phobic Disorders/epidemiology , Prevalence , Students , Young AdultABSTRACT
Globally, many nations have put in place policies on technology enhanced teaching and learning in an effort to keep abreast with the rapid advancement in technology. However, the use of technology in education has been slow in many third world countries, inclusive of Zimbabwe. COVID-19 restrictions inadvertently accelerated the adoption of digital instructional interface devices (DIIDs). Smartphones are preferred DIIDs because of their popularity amongst children as well as teachers. However, their successful penetration as DIIDs is largely dependent on teachers’ dispositions as key agents of curriculum implementation. Zimbabwe is known to have a 52% smartphone penetration rate for all citizens. The study was therefore carried out to determine the penetration rate of smartphones in science teachers, and also to probe teachers’ views on learners being allowed unlimited access to smartphones. The study adopted descriptive survey design from a quantitative research approach. Data was collected from 179 science teachers through a self-developed electronic questionnaire that was administered through the Kobo Toolbox online survey application. Results show that the smartphone penetration rate in science teachers is 87%. Multitasking and indecent exposure are the main forms of learner deviance that make teachers more reluctant to accept smartphones as DIIDs. In the presence of school-wide and classroom policies that cater for both merits of smartphone use and ease of policy enforcement, Zimbabwe science teachers are however ready to fully embrace smartphones as useful DIIDs. © 2022, Association for Learning Technology. All rights reserved.