Measuring Nomophobia and Exploration of Consequences and Comorbidities

Sarah Marie Fryman, William L. Romine

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Excessive use of smartphones has coined the term “Nomophobia”, or fear of not being able to use your smartphone. For many, these devices have become an extension of ourselves, which raises hesitation on whether or not society has become addicted to smartphones. Specific diagnostic criteria for smartphone addiction have yet to be settled, and even appropriate to use the word “addiction” when describing excessive usage of smartphones is controversial.

We therefore explore utilize current measures to explore the symptoms of nomophobia and their hierarchy, as well as comorbidities including social anxiety, self-esteem, distracted driving and sleep quality. A total of 176 adults from a research-intensive university in the Midwestern United States completed an anonymous online survey. Through factor analytic and Rasch methods, it was found that based on a single measure for one’s level of nomophobia, the degree to which mobile phone use interferes with daily life can be qualified. The relationship between nomophobia and social anxiety supports the hypothesis that mobile phone addiction can be magnified by personality traits and other psychiatric comorbidities. It is apparent that technology addiction and cell phone addiction need to be studied among a greater population, especially among women and those with social anxiety.

Original languageAmerican English
JournalDefault journal
StatePublished - Apr 1 2020

Disciplines

  • Arts and Humanities
  • Engineering
  • Life Sciences
  • Medicine and Health Sciences
  • Physical Sciences and Mathematics
  • Social and Behavioral Sciences

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