Exploring the prevalence of nomophobia in a Canadian university: An environmental scan

Abstract

Smartphone ownership and engagement are at an all-time high. Excessive smartphone use may impart smartphone-specific anxiety; specifically, the fear of being unable to access or use one’s smartphone, or nomophobia. Young adults, in particular, are at higher risk for nomophobia, given higher ownership of and engagement with smartphones. Notably, little research has been done in a Canadian context. Objective: To conduct an environmental scan of nomophobia prevalence in a Canadian university. Participants: Full-time and part-time university students. Methods: The Nomophobia Questionnaire and demographics were collected via mass emailer of all students at the host institution (n = 1,002). Results: Findings indicate moderate-to-high levels of nomophobia among respondents, with nearly a quarter of respondents reporting severe nomophobia. Respondents who identified as women were an undergraduate, and/or owned an Apple device reported significantly higher nomophobia. Conclusions: This study provides evidence for comparable levels of nomophobia between Canadian post-secondary students and recent global research. Future research should explore nomophobia within a more nationally representative sample.

Keywords:

• Anxiety
• nomophobia
• post-secondary
• smartphone

Conflict of interest disclosure

The authors have no actual or perceived conflicts of interest to declare. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, of Canada and received approval from the Institutional Review Board of Western University.

Funding

No funding was used to support this research and/or the preparation of the manuscript.

Notes

1 The original study was conducted by the UK Post Office in 2010, however, the authors have been unable to locate the original report as only secondary sources of data are available.