Prevalence and health risk factors of nomophobia among students in private colleges
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Sunita Mahajan 1 , Pramila Pudasaini Thapa 2 3 , Prakash Sharma 4 , Panagiotis Tsirkas 5 , Guma Ali 6 , Konstantina Diamanti 7 , Ioannis Pantelis Adamopoulos 8 9 10 *
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1 Yeti Health Science Academy, Kathmandu, NEPAL2 Life Skills Education, Kathmandu, NEPAL3 Purbanchal University, Pushpalal Chowk, Biratnagar, NEPAL4 Faculty of Education, Tribhuvan University, Butwal, NEPAL5 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hatzikosta General District Hospital, Ioannina, GREECE6 Department of Computer and Information Science, Faculty of Technoscience, Muni University, Arua, UGANDA7 Department of Early Childhood Education, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, GREECE8 Department of Public Health Policy, Sector of Occupational & Environmental Health, School of Public Health, University of West Attica, Athens, GREECE9 Department of Public Health and Policies, School of Social Science, Hellenic Open University, Patra, GREECE10 Hellenic Republic, Region of Attica, Department of Environmental Hygiene and Sanitarian Public Health Inspections, Athens, GREECE* Corresponding Author

Abstract

Nomophobia is the fear of being out of smartphone contact. This study examines its prevalence and potential links to socio-demographic and risk factors. Modern technologies have led to nomophobia, a psychosocial risk factor causing technostress. This fear of new technologies is influenced by ergonomics, which studies how humans physically react to and fit with devices. Technostress is a result of altered behaviors resulting from the use of modern technologies at work and home. The primary goal of this research was to assess the prevalence of nomophobia among college students with specific objectives and research questions. Researchers used a quantitative cross-sectional design to assess nomophobia among 231 higher secondary students. Participants completed a semi-structured, self-administered questionnaire, and the study maintained ethical considerations. Researchers analyzed the data using SPSS version 26. The respondents had a mean age of 17.18 years. The study found that 49.8% used smartphones for more than 1-3 hours daily, while 28.1% checked their phones for notifications a few times daily. Findings revealed that 32% of respondents experienced mild nomophobia, 34.2% had a moderate level, and 33.8% suffered from severe nomophobia. Sixty-seven-point-five percent of respondents used smartphones primarily for social media. The study found no significant association between socio-demographic factors and nomophobia levels. However, daily smartphone usage showed a substantial correlation with nomophobia severity. These results indicate that most respondents experienced some degree of nomophobia, with its prevalence likely increasing. Effective management of nomophobia requires early detection and proactive intervention strategies.

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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

European Journal of Health and Biology Education, Volume 13, Issue 1, 2026, Article No: e2604

https://doi.org/10.29333/ejhbe/18286

Publication date: 31 Mar 2026

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Article Downloads: 4

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