Nomophobia and academic performance: prevalence and cor-relates in young people
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12795/revistafuentes.2025.23121Keywords:
Mobile phones, Addiction, Youth, Adolescence, Questionnaires, Cultural minorities, Secondary schools, Academic achievementAbstract
Continued improper and inadequate use of the smartphone can lead to addiction and dependency problems that may trigger other difficulties such as the irrational fear of not having the phone available, as well as the possibilities it offers, at any time. This is the case with nomophobia (no-mobile-phobia). The objective of this research is to analyze the prevalence of nomophobia in students between 12 and 20 years old, as well as to determine the relationship between all the variables that identify the levels of nomophobia, and to corroborate the incidence of academic performance in the higher or lower prevalence of this problem. For this purpose, quantitative research is carried out using the standardized questionnaire NMP-Q. The sample is composed of a total of 1,630 students of different educational stages. The results determine that the impossibility of contacting and being contacted are the variables in which a greater prevalence of this phobia has been observed among the population studied. In addition, students who claim that their academic performance is lower due to the excessive use of their smart phone show greater anxiety, nervousness, discomfort, fear or inconvenience when not being able to make immediate use of their phone and its different possibilities.
Downloads
References
Ahmed, S., Pokhrel, N., Roy, S., & Samuel, A.J. (2019). Impact of nomophobia: A nondrug addiction among students of physiotherapy course using an online cross-sectional survey. Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 61(1), 77-80. https://doi.org/10.4103/psychiatry.IndianJPsychiatry_361_18
Aldhahir, A. M., Bintalib, H. M., Siraj, R. A., Alqahtani, J. S., Alqarni, O. A., Alqarni, A. A., ... & Alwafi, H. (2023). Prevalence of Nomophobia and Its Impact on Academic Performance Among Respiratory Therapy Students in Saudi Arabia. Psychology Research and Behavior Management, 877-884.
Ali, A., Muda, M., Ridzuan, A.R., Nuji, M.N.N., Izzamuddin, M.H.M., & Latiff, D.I.A. (2017). The relationship between phone usage factors and nomophobia. Advanced Science Letters, 23(8), 7610-7613. https://doi.org/10.1166/asl.2017.9534
Amez, S., & Baert, S. (2020). Smartphone use and academic performance: A literature review. International Journal of Educational Research, 103, 101618. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2020.101618
Argumosa-Villar, L., Boada-Grau, J., & Vigil-Colet, A. (2017). Exploratory investigation of theoretical predictors of nomophobia using the Mobile Phone Involvement Questionnaire (MPIQ). Journal of Adolescence, 56, 127-135. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2017.02.003
Barnes, S.J., Pressey, A. D., & Scornavacca, E. (2019). Mobile ubiquity: Understanding the relationship between cognitive absorption, smartphone addiction and social network services. Computers in Human Behavior, 90, 246-258. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2018.09.013
Betoncu, O., & Ozdamli, F. (2019). The disease of 21st century: Digital disease. TEM Journal, 8(2), 598-603. https://doi.org/10.18421/TEM82-37
Bragazzi, N.L., & del Puente, G. (2019). A proposal for including nomophobia in the new DSM-V. Psychology Research and Behavior Management, 7, 155-160. https://doi.org/10.2147/PRBM.S41386
Braña Sánchez, Á. J., & Moral Jiménez, M. D. L. V. (2023). Nomofobia y FOMO en el uso del smartphone en jóvenes: el rol de la ansiedad por estar conectado. Health & Addictions/Salud y Drogas, 23(1), 117-130.doi: 10.21134/haaj.v23i1.707
Cabero, J., & Valencia, R. (2019). TIC para la inclusión: una mirada desde Latinoamérica. Aula Abierta, 48(2), 139-146. https://doi.org/10.17811/rifie.48.2.2019.139-146
Correr, R., & Bijos, M.T. (2017). The use of cell phones by adolescents: Impacts on relationships. Adolescencia e Saude, 14, 24-39. https://bit.ly/2MzlEKs
Darvishi, M., Noori, M., Nazer, M.R., Sheikholeslami, S., & Karimi, E. (2019). Investigating different dimensions of nomophobia among medical students: A cross-sectional study. Open Access Macedonian Journal of Medical Sciences, 7(4), 573-578. https://doi.org/10.3889/OAMJMS.2019.138
De la Fuente, D., Hernández, M., & Pra, I. (2018). Vídeo educativo y rendimiento académico en la enseñanza superior a distancia. RIED. Revista Iberoamericana de Educación a Distancia, 21(1), 323-341. https://doi.org/10.5944/ried.21.1.18326
De la Villa, M., & Suárez, C. (2016). Factores de riesgo en el uso problemático de Internet y del teléfono móvil en adolescentes españoles. Revista Iberoamericana de Psicología y Salud, 7(2), 69-78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rips.2016.03.001
Devi, U., & Dutta, R. (2022). A review paper on prevalence of nomophobia among students and its impact on their academic achievement. Journal of Positive School Psychology, 6(3), 5397-5405.
Espigares-Pinazo, M. J., Bautista-Vallejo, J. M., & García-Carmona, M. (2020). Evaluations in the Moodle-Mediated Music Teaching-Learning Environment. Technology, Knowledge, and Learning, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10758-020-09468-0
Fernández-de-Álava, M., Quesada-Pallarès, C., & García-Carmona, M. (2017). Use of ICTs at work: an intergenerational analysis in Spain/Uso de las TIC en el puesto de trabajo: un análisis intergeneracional en España. Cultura y Educación, 29(1), 120-150
Fernández-Martín, F. D., Moreno-Guerrero, A.-J., Marín-Marín, J.-A., & Romero-Rodríguez, J.-M. (2022). Adolescents’ emotions in Spanish education: Development and validation of the social and Emotional Learning Scale. Sustainability, 14(7), 3755. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14073755
Garbanzo G.M. (2007). Factores asociados al rendimiento académico en estudiantes universitarios, una reflexióndesde la calidad de la educación superior pública. Revista Educación, 31(1), 43-63.
García-Vandewalle, J. M., García-Carmona, M., Trujillo Torres, J. M., & Moya, P. (2021). Analysis of digital competence of educators (DigCompEdu) in teacher trainees: the context of Melilla, Spain. Technology, Knowledge and Learning, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10758-021-09546-x.
García-Vandewalle García, J. M., García-Carmona, M., Torres, J. M. T., & Moya-Fernández, P. (2022a). Teacher Training for Educational Change: The View of International Experts. Contemporary Educational Technology, 14(1). ep330, https://doi.org/10.30935/cedtech/11367
García‐Vandewalle García, J. M., García‐Carmona, M., Trujillo Torres, J. M., & Moya‐Fernández, P. (2022b). The integration of emerging technologies in socioeconomically disadvantaged educational contexts. The view of international experts. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 38(4), 1185-1197. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcal.12677
Gentina, E., Tang, T.L.P., & Dancoine, P.F. (2018). Does Gen Z’s emotional intelligence promote iCheating (cheating with iPhone) yet curb iCheating through reduced nomophobia? Computers and Education, 126, 231-247. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2018.07.011
Gezgin, D.M., Cakir, O., & Yildirim, S. (2018). The relationship between levels of nomophobia prevalence and Internet addiction among high school students: The factors influencing nomophobia. International Journal of Research in Education and Science, 4(1), 215-225. https://doi.org/10.46328/ijres.v4i1.185
González-Cabrera, J., León-Mejía, A., Pérez-Sancho, C., & Calvete, E. (2017). Adaptation of the Nomophobia Questionnaire (NMP-Q) to Spanish in a sample of adolescents. Actas Españolas de Psiquiatria, 45(4), 137-144. https://bit.ly/2ZuvbYN
Hernández, R., Fernández, C., & Baptista, M.P. (2014). Metodología de la Investigación. McGraw Hill, Spain.
Hilt, J. (2019). Dependencia del celular, hábitos y actitudes hacia la lectura y su relación con el rendimiento académico. Apuntes Universitarios, 9(3), 103-116. https://doi.org/10.17162/au.v9i3.384
Jöreskog, K.G. Analysis of ordinal variables 2: Cross-Sectional Data. Text of the workshop “Structural equation modelling with LISREL 8.51”. Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, 2001.
Karaoglan, F. G., Yilmaz, R., & Erdogdu, F. (2022). The Relationship Between Nomophobia, Emotional Intelligence, Interpersonal Problem-Solving, Perceived Stress, and Self-esteem Among Undergraduate Students. Journal of Technology in Behavioral Science, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41347-022-00282-2
King, A.L.S., Valença, A.M., Silva, A.C.O., Baczynski, T., Carvalho, M.R., & Nardi, A.E. (2013). Nomophobia: Dependency on virtual environments or social phobia? Computers in Human Behavior, 29(1), 140-144. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2012.07.025
Kneidinger-Mueller, B. (2019). When the smartphone goes offline: A factorial survey of smartphone users’ experiences of mobile unavailability. Computers in Human Behavior, 98, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2019.03.037
Kumar, A., & Latha, R. (2022). Nomophobia and the psycho-physiological effects of PUBG gaming on medical college student’s health and academic performance. Biomedicine, 42(3), 567-573.
Lee, S., Kim, M., McDonough, I.M., Mendoza, J.S., & Kim, M.S. (2017). The Effects of Cell Phone Use and Emotion-regulation Style on College Students’ Learning. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 31(3), 360-366. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.3323
Lee, Y.S., Ang, H.S., Jeong, C.J., Oo, Y.D., Jeong, G.Y., Moon, J.S., & Hong, S.W. (2012). Changes in the thickness of median nerves due to excessive use of smartphones. Journal of Physical Therapy Science, 24(12), 1259-1262. https://doi.org/10.1589/jpts.24.1259
López, S., González, S., Chivite, C. M., del Valle Ramírez-Durán, M., Jódar, R., & Sánchez-Martínez, M. (2023). Diseño y validación de una escala para medir la nomofobia en niños de 9 a 13 años. Atención Primaria, 55(1), 102528.
Marín-Marín, J.-A., López Belmonte, J., Lampropoulos, G., & Moreno-Guerrero, A.-J. (2023). Influência da aplicação de um plano de leitura na motivação, inteligência emocional, fluência e compreensão leitora em alunos espanhóis do ensino fundamental. Texto Livre, 16, e41548. https://doi.org/10.1590/1983-3652.2023.41548
Mendoza, J.S., Pody, B.C., Lee, S., Kim, M., & McDonough, I.M. (2018). The effect of cellphones on attention and learning: The influences of time, distraction, and nomophobia. Computers in Human Behavior, 86, 52-60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2018.04.027
Molina, P.J. (2017). Ceuta y su relación con las amenazas emergente. Revista de Pensamiento Estratégico y Seguridad CISDE, 2(1), 9-20.
Montilla, J. M., & Kromrey, J. (2010). Robustez de las pruebas T en comparación de medias, ante violación de supuestos de normalidad y homocedasticidad. Ciencia e Ingeniería, 31(2), 101-108.
Morales-Endrino, J.-A., Molina-Saorín, J., & Marín-Marín, J.-A. (2023). Validation of the EPACODI-1 scale: University students’ perceptions of inclusive education. European Journal of Investigation in Health Psychology and Education, 13(3), 642-654. https://doi.org/10.3390/ejihpe13030049
Moreno-Guerrero, A.J., Aznar-Díaz, I., Cáceres-Reche, P., & Rodríguez-García, A.M. (2020). Do Age, Gender and Poor Diet Influence the Higher Prevalence of Nomophobia among Young People? International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(10), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17103697
Moreno-Guerrero, A.J., López-Belmonte, J., Romero-Rodríguez, J.M., & Rodríguez-García, A.M. (2020). Nomophobia: impact of cell phone use and time to rest among teacher students. Heliyon, 6(5), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e04084.
Moreno-Guerrero, A. J., Hinojo-Lucena, F. J., Trujillo-Torres, J. M., & Rodriguez-Garcia, A. M. (2021). Nomophobia and the influence of time to REST among nursing students. A descriptive, correlational and predictive research. Nurse Education in Practice, 52, 103025. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nepr.2021.103025
Moreno-Guerrero, A. J., Marín-Marin, J. A., López-Belmonte, J., & Churi, P. (2022). Systematic Review on Digital Competence in the Spanish Context. Digital Literacy for Teachers, 495-517. https://doi.org/10.1108/jarhe-05-2020-0149.
Ozdemir, B., Cakir, O., & Hussain, I. (2018). Prevalence of Nomophobia among university students: A comparative study of Pakistani and Turkish undergraduate students. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 14(4), 1519-1532. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/84839
Park, C.S., & Kaye, B.K. (2019). Smartphone and self-extension: Functionally, anthropomorphically, and ontologically extending self via the smartphone. Mobile Media & Communication, 7(2), 215–231. https://doi.org/10.1177/2050157918808327
Prasad, M., Patthi, B., Singla, A., Gupta, R., Saha, S., Kumar, J.K., & Pandita, V. (2017). Nomophobia: A cross-sectional study to assess mobile phone usage among dental students. Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research, 11(2), 34-39. https://doi.org/10.7860/JCDR/2017/20858.9341
Rai, A., Kamath, R., Kamath, L., & D’Souza, B. (2019). Mobile phone dependency and self-esteem among adolescents. International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Technology, 10(2), 340-350. https://bit.ly/2QpWPSp
Ramos, I., López, C., & Quiles, M.C. (2017). Adaptation and validation of the Yildirim & Correia nomophobia scale in Spanish students of «compulsory secondary education». Health and Addictions / Salud y Drogas, 17(2), 201-213. http://doi.org/10.21134/haaj.v17i2.332
Rodríguez-García, A.-M., Marín-Marín, J.-A., López-Núñez, J.-A., & Moreno-Guerrero, A.-J. (2021). Do age and educational stage influence no-mobile-phone phobia? International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(9), 4450. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18094450
Rodríguez-García, A.M., Moreno-Guerrero, A.J., & López, J. (2020). Nomophobia: An Individual’s Growing Fear of Being without a Smartphone—A Systematic Literature Review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(2), 1-19. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17020580
Rodríguez-García, A. M., Cardoso-Pulido, M. J., De la Cruz-Campos, J. C., & Martínez-Heredia, N. (2022). Communicating and Collaborating with Others through Digital Competence: A Self-Perception Study Based on Teacher Trainees’ Gender. Education Sciences, 12(8), 534.
Rodríguez-García, A. M., Moreno-Guerrero, A. J., & García-Carmona, M. (2023). Retrospective and Prospective Analysis on “Sexting”: Indicators of Productivity, Dispersion, and Content (2009–2019). Archives of Sexual Behavior, 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-023-02562-1
Romero-Rodríguez, J.-M., Marín-Marín, J.-A., Hinojo-Lucena, F.-J., & Gómez-García, G. (2021). An explanatory model of problematic internet use of southern Spanish university students. Social Science Computer Review, 40(5), 1171–1185. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894439321998650
Salcedo Cadena, R. M., & Lara Salazar, M. (2022). Nomofobia y su relación con las habilidades sociales en adolescentes. Ciencia Latina Revista Científica Multidisciplinar, 6(6), 10554-10565. https://doi.org/10.37811/cl_rcm.v6i6.4148
Sosa Manchego, L. M., & Pastor Molina, L. (2022). Factores Problemáticos relacionados a la nomofobia. Sinergias Educativas. https://doi.org/10.37954/se.vi.267
Şakiroğlu, M., Gülada, G., Uğurcan, S., Kara, N., & Gandur, T. (2017). The Mediator Effect of Mindfulness Awareness on The Relationship Between Nomophobia and Academic University Adjustment Levels in College Students. International Journal of Psycho-Educational Sciences, 6(3), 69-79.
Samaha, M., & Hawi, N.S. (2016). Relationships among smartphone addiction, stress, academic performance, and satisfaction with life. Computers in Human Behavior, 57, 321-325. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.12.045
Santana-Vega, L.E., Gómez-Muñoz, A.M., & Feliciano-García, L.A. (2019). Adolescents problematic mobile pone use, Fear of Missing Out and familiy communication. Comunicar: Revista científica iberoamericana de comunicación y educación, 27(59), 39-47. https://doi.org/10.3916/C59-2019-04
Santos, T., Da Silva, L.K., Abbas, W., De Souza, L.A., & De Sá Pinheiro, L.V. (2017). Where’s my cell phone? An analysis of nomophobia in the organizational environment. RAE Revista de Administracao de Empresas, 57(6), 634-635. https://doi.org/10.1590/s0034-759020170611
Sola Reche, J. M., Sola Reche, J. M., Marín Marín, J. A., Alonso García, S., & Gómez García, G. (2020). Análisis de percepciones del estudiantado del Máster de Secundaria respecto a las competencias profesionales del docente. Revista electrónica interuniversitaria de formación del profesorado, 23(2). https://doi.org/10.6018/reifop.418601
Throuvala, M.A., Griffiths, M.D., Rennoldson, M., & Kuss, D.J. (2019). Motivational processes and dysfunctional mechanisms of social media use among adolescents: A qualitative focus group study. Computers in Human Behavior, 93, 164-175. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2018.12.012
UNESCO. (2013). UNESCO policy guidelines for mobile learning. París: UNESCO.
Tuco, K. G., Castro-Diaz, S. D., Soriano-Moreno D. R., & Benites-Zapata V. A. (2023). Prevalence of Nomophobia in University Students: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Healthc Inform Res. 29(1), 40-53. doi: 10.4258/hir.2023.29.1.40
Vagka, E., Gnardellis, C., Lagiou, A., & Notara, V. (2023). Nomophobia and Self-Esteem: A Cross Sectional Study in Greek University Students. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(4), 2929. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20042929
Yildirim, C., & Correia, A.P. (2015). Exploring the dimensions of nomophobia: Development and validation of a self-reported questionnaire. Computers in Human Behavior, 49, 130-137. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.02.059
Yildirim, C., Sumuer, E., Adnan, M., & Yildirim, S. (2016). A growing fear: Prevalence of nomophobia among Turkish college students. Information Development, 32(5), 1322-1331. https://doi.org/10.1177/0266666915599025
Yildiz, H. (2019). Investigation of nomophobia and smartphone addiction predictors among adolescents in Turkey: Demographic variables and academic performance. The Social Science Journal, 56(4), 492-517. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.soscij.2018.09.003.
Zwilling, M. (2022). The impact of nomophobia, stress, and loneliness on smartphone addiction among young adults during and after the COVID-19 pandemic: An Israeli case analysis. Sustainability, 14(6), 3229. http://doi.org/10.3390/su14063229
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Antonio-Manuel Rodríguez-García, Marina García-Carmona, José-Antonio Marín-Marín, Antonio-José Moreno-Guerrero

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish in this journal accept the following conditions:
Authors conserve the copyrights and cede to the journal the right for first publication, with the work registered with the attribution licence of Creative Commons, which allows third parties to use the published work as long as they mention the authorship and the first publication in this journal.
The authors may make other independent and additional contractual agreements for the non-exclusive distribution of the version of the article published in this journal (e.g. include it an institutional repository or publish it in a book) as long as it clearly indicates that the work was first published in this journal.
Authors are allowed and indeed recommended to publish their work on the internet (for example on institutional or personal pages) before and during the revision and publication process, because it can lead to productive exchanges and greater and faster dissemination of the published work (see The Effect of Open Access).