Nomophobia and social interaction anxiety among university students
Background: Today, smartphones have acquired irreplaceable importance in human lives, connecting with the different corners of the world, storing large amounts of data, obtaining any desirable information, possible with a single touch. Being out of contact with a mobile device leading to anxiousness...
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| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Book |
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Elsevier,
2021-01-01T00:00:00Z.
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| Summary: | Background: Today, smartphones have acquired irreplaceable importance in human lives, connecting with the different corners of the world, storing large amounts of data, obtaining any desirable information, possible with a single touch. Being out of contact with a mobile device leading to anxiousness, nervousness, and discomfort is called nomophobia. The prevalence of nomophobia has been escalating at an alarming rate among the young generation. Objectives: To assess the prevalence of nomophobia and its relationship with social interaction anxiety among the students of Chitkara University, Punjab. Methods: A descriptive correlational study was carried out among 209 students of Chitkara University, Punjab, using a nomophobia questionnaire and social interaction anxiety scale. The convenience sampling technique was employed to select the study participants, and the data was collected through a google form. Descriptive and inferential statistics using SPSS software were applied to analyze the data. Results: There were 52.15% males and 47.85% female students. All the students were having nomophobia. The majority of the students, i.e., 118 (56.5%), were moderately nomophobic, and 74 (35.4%) were severely nomophobic, whereas only 17 (8.1%) were mildly nomophobic. Nomophobia and social interaction anxiety had weak positive correlation (p = 0.001, r = 0.221). There was a significant association of nomophobia with the department of study, family income per month, working status of parents, and age at which smartphone ownership was obtained, and time in hours per day spent on using a smartphone. Conclusion: There is an increasing prevalence of nomophobia among university students, and social interaction anxiety is a significant predictor. There is an urgent need to develop strategies towards prevention, early identification, and timely management of social interaction anxiety and nomophobia. Key Message: The growing trend of use of information technology in day-to-day routines during the Covid-19 pandemic imposes many challenges like isolation from the real social world and addiction to being indulged in a virtual world. Attainment of mobile phones at an early age and increased duration of usage is a contributory factor in the development of nomophobia. |
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| Item Description: | 2214-1391 10.1016/j.ijans.2021.100352 |