Nomophobia and Academic and Emotional Variables in Secondary Students
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12795/revistafuentes.2026.28506Keywords:
Nomophobia, Digital Literacy, Academic Achievement, Learning Styles, Student Wellbeing, Mobile Devices, Secondary School Students, Technology Use in EducationAbstract
The problematic use of mobile devices among adolescents has led to the emergence of phenomena such as nomophobia, whose impact in educational contexts remains underexplored. This study examines the relationship between nomophobia, perceived well-being, learning approaches (deep and surface), and academic performance in secondary school students. A quantitative, cross-sectional, and correlational design was employed with a sample of 275 students from asecondary school in Granada (Spain). Validated questionnaires were used to assess levels of nomophobia, perceived well-being, learning approaches, and self- academic performance. Data were analyzed using contingency tables, chi-square tests, and multiple correspondence analysis (MCA). Findings revealed that 32% of students reported high levels of nomophobia. Statistically significant associations were found between nomophobia and all the variables: academic performance (χ² = 19.72; p = 0.001), perceived well-being (χ² = 23.76; p = 0.000), deep learning approach (χ² = 12.96; p = 0.011), and surface learning style (χ² = 20.90; p = 0.000). The biplot identified three distinct student profiles based on nomophobia levels and their academic and emotional implications. These findings confirm that nomophobia is not an isolated phenomenon but is negatively associated with academic performance and well-being, and is linked to a surface learning approach. Hyperconnectivity may be shaping students’ study habits, learning orientation, and emotional health.
Downloads
References
Abi-Jaoude, E., Naylor, K. T., y Pignatiello, A. (2020). Smartphones, social media use and youth mental health. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 192(6), 136-141. https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.190434
Abukhanova, A., Almukhambetova, B., Mamekova, A., Spatay, A., & Danikeyeva, A. (2024). Association between nomophobia and learning performance among undergraduate students: The mediating role of depression and anxiety. Frontiers in Education, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2024.1365220
Adelantado-Renau, M., Moliner-Uriales, D., Cavero-Redondo, I., Beltran-Valls, M., Martínez-Vizcaíno, V. y Álvarez-Bueno, C. (2019). Association Between Screen Media Use and Academic Performance Among Children and Adolescents. JAMA Pediatrics, 173(11), 1058-1067. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2019.3176
Adjanor-Doku, C., Mensah, P. O., & Ellis, F. Y. A. (2024). Academic stress, well-being and students’ friendship quality amid crisis: Lessons from COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, ahead-of-print(ahead-of-print). https://doi.org/10.1108/JARHE-11-2023-0512
Agüero-Espinoza, F. A., Neyra-Agama, M., Tasilla-Guayamis, L., Valencia-Acosta, L., Vega-Agurto, G. M., & Morales, J. (2025). Nomophobia and Self-esteem: The Influence of Digital Media on the Leisure Activities of Peruvian Adolescents. 18. https://doi.org/10.2174/0118749445360319241226120427
An, Q. (2024). The effectiveness of using IT in art education to develop learning motivation and psychological well-being. Education and Information Technologies, 29(15), 19537–19552. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-024-12601-6
Arpaci, I., & Gundogan, S. (2022). Mediating role of psychological resilience in the relationship between mindfulness and nomophobia. British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 50(5), 782–790. https://doi.org/10.1080/03069885.2020.1856330
Arrivillaga, C., Rey, L. y Extremera, N. (2021). Perfil emocional de adolescentes en riesgo de un uso problemático de internet. Revista de psicología clínica con niños y adolescentes, 8(1), 47-53. https://doi.org/10.21134/rpcna.2021.08.1.6
Bahamón, M. J., Alarcón-Vásquez, Y., & Cabezas Corcione, A. (2020). Diseño y validación de una escalade bienestar psicológico para adolescentes (BIPSI). Venezolanos de Farmacología y Terapéutica, 39(3), 334–340.
Bernabé-Mateo, M. E., Onieva-Zafra, M. D., Muñoz-Rodriguez, J. R., Bermejo-Cantarero, A., & Romero-Blanco, C. (2025). The hidden costs of nomophobia: Associations with sleep, diet, anxiety, alcohol consumption, and lifestyle patterns among nursing students. BMC Nursing, 24(1), 603. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-025-03263-x
Bhattacharya, S., Bashar, M. A., Srivastava, A., & Singh, A. (2019). NOMOPHOBIA: NO MObile PHone PhoBIA. Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care, 8(4), 1297. https://doi.org/10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_71_19
Biggs, J. B. (1988). Assessing student approaches to learning. Australian Psychologist, 23(2), 197-206.
Brown, T.T. (2016). On the brain basis of digital daze in millennial minds: rejoinder to “Digital technology and student cognitive development: the neuroscience of the university classroom”. Journal of Management Education, 40(4), 411-414. https://doi.org/10.1177/1052562916634118
Buctot, D. B., Kim, N., & Kim, S. H. (2020). The role of nomophobia and smartphone addiction in the lifestyle profiles of junior and senior high school students in the Philippines. Social Sciences & Humanities Open, 2(1), 100035. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssaho.2020.100035
Carbonell, X., Calvo, F., Panova, T., & Beranuy, M. (2021). Consideración crítica de las adicciones digitales. Digital Education Review, 39, Article 39. https://doi.org/10.1344/der.2021.39.4-22
Carpio-Saltos, A. F. (2024). Análisis del uso de dispositivos electrónicos en relación al rendimiento académico de los estudiantes en la Unidad Educativa "6 de Octubre de Ventanas". Universidad Técnica de Babahoyo, Facultad de Ciencias Jurídicas, Sociales y de la Educación, Psicología.
Ceobanu, C. M., Marian, A. L., & Apostolache, R. (2023). Glimpse on 21st century new phobias; a predictive model of nomophobia. Frontiers in Public Health, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1252099
Cerniglia, L., Cimino, S. y Ammaniti, M. (2020). What are the effects of screen time on emotion regulation and academic achievements? A three-wave longitudinal study on children from 4 to 8 years of age. Journal of Early Childhood Research, 19(2), 145-160. https://doi.org/10.1177/1476718X20969846
Chemnad, K., Aziz, M., Abdelmoneium, A. O., Al-Harahsheh, S., Baghdady, A., Al Motawaa, F. Y., Alsayed Hassan, D., & Ali, R. (2023). Adolescents’ Internet addiction: Does it all begin with their environment? Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health, 17(1), 87. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13034-023-00626-7
Cortés C., M., & Seymour D., F. (2024). Adicciones y dependencias en el ágora digital: Desde las Neurociencias hacia una saludable comunicación. Revista Chilena de Neuro-Psiquiatría, 62(1), 10–13. https://doi.org/10.4067/s0717-92272024000100010
De Abreu-Agrela-Rodrigues, D. F. (2022). Cómo la tecnología puede perjudicar a los niños y jóvenes. Ciencia Latina Revista Científica Multidisciplinar, 6(2), 88-101. https://doi.org/10.37811/cl_rcm.v6i2.1866
Díaz, R. y Aladro, M. (2016). Relación entre uso de las nuevas tecnologías y sobrepeso infantil, como problema de salud pública. RqR Enfermería Comunitaria, 4 (1), 48-49. https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=5353331
Díaz-Miranda, N., & Extremera-Pacheco, N. (2020). Inteligencia Emocional, Adicción Al Smartphone Y Malestar Psicológico Como Predictores De La Nomofobia En Adolescentes. Know and Share Psychology, 1(2), Article 2. https://doi.org/10.25115/kasp.v1i2.3195
Dolapoğlu, N., Türk, E., Yürür, E. K., Can, M. Ş., Alçı, D., Tulacı, R. G., Baykan, H., & Karlıdere, T. (2025). Never Without My Mobile Phone: The Relationship between Nomophobia, Social Media Addiction and Emotion Regulation Difficulties. Bağımlılık Dergisi, 26(1), 59-67. https://doi.org/10.51982/bagimli.1511840
Ekşi, F., Demirci, Í., & Tanyeri, H. (2020). Problematic Technology Use and Well-Being in Adolescence: The Personal and Relational Effects of Technology. Addicta: The Turkish Journal on Addictions, 7(2), 107–121. https://doi.org/10.5152/ADDICTA.2020.19077
Escriba-Chacón, M. E. (2022). Desarrollo de competencias digitales en los docents post pandemia. LATAM Revista Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades, 3(2), 817-825. https://doi.org/10.56712/latam.v3i2.151
Ford, K., Bellis, M. A., Judd, N., Griffith, N., & Hughes, K. (2022). The use of mobile phone applications to enhance personal safety from interpersonal violence – an overview of available smartphone applications in the United Kingdom. BMC Public Health, 22(1), 1158. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-13551-9
Freiberg-Hoffmann, A., Vigh, C., & Fernández-Liporace, M. (2021). Creatividad y enfoques de aprendizaje en estudiantes universitarios. Psicogente, 24(46), 106–122. https://doi.org/10.17081/psico.24.46.4492
Fung, M., Rojas, E. y Delgado, L. (2020). Putting evidence into practice: Impacto del tiempo de pantalla en la saluda de niños y adolescentes. Revista Médica Sinergia, 5 (6), 4-7. https://doi.org/10.31434/rms.v5i6.370
Fute, A., Feng, Y., Huang, F., Zhao, X., Kangwa, D., & Oubibi, M. (2025). A qualitative study on factors for freshmen’s mobile phone addiction and its influence on their classroom learning. Discover Education, 4(1). https://doi.org/10.1007/s44217-025-00644-x
Giménez-Leal, G. y de Castro-Vila, R. (2020). Dispositivos móviles en Educación Superior: la experiencia con Kahoot! Dirección y Organización 70, 5-18. https://doi.org/10.37610/dyo.v0i70.565
Gitikhmayeva, L., Mambetalina, A., Karibayeva, G., Sultaniyazova, N., & Mandykayeva, A. (2025). Personality Predictors of Nomophobia among Youth. Health Psychology Research, 13, e81240009. https://doi.org/10.14440/hpr.2590262
Gohar, A., & Munir, M. (2022). Attachment Styles and Nomophobia in Young Adults: The Mediating Role of Mindful Awareness. Pakistan Journal of Psychological Research, 37(4), 637-652. https://doi.org/10.33824/PJPR.2022.37.4.38
Gómez-Gonzalvo, F., Devís-Devís, J. y Molina-Alventosa, P. (2020). El tiempo de uso de los videojuegos en el rendimiento académico de los adolescentes. Comunicar, 65, 89-99. https://doi.org/10.3916/C65-2020-08
Guamanga, M. H., Saiz, C., Rivas, S. F., & Almeida, L. S. (2024). Analysis of the contribution of critical thinking and psychological well-being to academic performance. Frontiers in Education, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2024.1423441
Guaña-Moya, J. (2023). Estrategias y soluciones tecnológicas para mejorar la enseñanza y el aprendizaje en niños y jóvenes. FIPCAEC, 8(2), 420-431. https://doi.org/10.23857/fipcaec.v8i2
Guerra-Ayala, M. J., Alegre-de la Rosa, O. M., Chambi-Catacora, M. A. del P., Vargas-Onofre, E., Cari-Checa, E., & Diaz-Flores, D. (2025). Nomophobia, phubbing, and deficient sleep patterns in college students. Frontiers in Education, 9, 1421162. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2024.1421162
Jahrami, H. A., Fekih-Romdhane, F., Saif, Z. Q., Alhaj, O. A., AlRasheed, M. M., Pandi-Perumal, S. R., BaHammam, A. S., & Vitiello, M. V. (2022). Sleep dissatisfaction is a potential marker for nomophobia in adults. Sleep Medicine, 98, 152-157. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleep.2022.07.001
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
Llanes-Bonilla, A. T., Zapata-Salazar, J. y Pérez-Pedraza, B. Á. (2023). Conducta Adictiva a Redes Sociales Digitales y su Relación con Síntomas de Ansiedad en Universitarios. Politicas Sociales Sectoriales, 1(1), 502–523. https://politicassociales.uanl.mx/index.php/pss/article/view/30
López, S., González, S., Chivite, C.-M., Ramírez-Durán, M. del V., Jódar, R., & Sánchez-Martínez, M. (2023). Diseño y validación de una escala para medir la nomofobia en niños de 9 a 13 años. Atencion Primaria, 55(1), 102528. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aprim.2022.102528
Luy-Montejo, C., Medina-Gamero, A., Garcés-López, J. y Tolentino-Escarcena, R. E. (2020). Nomofobia adicción tecnológica en universitarios. Revista Studium Veritatis, 18(24), 43-69. https://doi.org/10.35626/sv.24.2020.313
Mancha-Pineda, E. E., Casa-Coila, M. D., Yana-Salluca, M., Mamani-Jilaja, D. y Mamani-Vilca, S. P. (2022). Competencias digitales y satisfacción en logros de aprendizaje de estudiantes universitarios en tiempos de COVID-19. Comuni@cción: Revista de Investigación en Comunicación y Desarrollo 13(2), 106-116. https://doi.org/10.33595/2226-1478.13.2.661
Morrison, L. G., Hargood, C., Pejovic, V., Geraghty, A. W. A., Lloyd, S., Goodman, N., Michaelides, D. T., Weston, A., Musolesi, M., Weal, M. J., & Yardley, L. (2017). The Effect of Timing and Frequency of Push Notifications on Usage of a Smartphone-Based Stress Management Intervention: An Exploratory Trial. PLOS ONE, 12(1), e0169162. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0169162
Mudgal, S. K., Gupta, P., Gaur, R., Varshney, S., & Patidar, V. (2025). Nomophobia: Prevalence and severity among Indian medical students – A systematic review and meta-analysis. Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 67(5), 459-468. https://doi.org/10.4103/indianjpsychiatry.indianjpsychiatry_1132_24
Notara, V., Vagka, E., Gnardellis, C., & Lagiou, A. (2021). The Emerging Phenomenon of Nomophobia in Young Adults: A Systematic Review Study. Addiction & Health, 13(2), 120-136. https://doi.org/10.22122/ahj.v13i2.309
Ortega-Mohedano, F. y Pinto-Hernández, F. (2021). Putting evidence into practice: Predicción del bienestar sobre el uso de pantallas inteligentes de los niños. Comunicar, 29 (66), 119-128. https://doi.org/10.31434/rms.v5i6.370
Pires, P. B., de Oliveira, N. V., da Silva, L. G., & Modesto, J. G. (2025). The influence of the intensity of technology use and nomophobia on Burnout. Revista Gestao & Tecnologia-Journal of Management and Technology, 25(1), 70-87.
Puig, M. y Escrivá, D. (2021). Estudio de la prevención de adicciones a las TIC en la web para la implementación en la educación para la salud. THERAPEHÍA, 15, 61-87. https://revistas.ucv.es/therapeia/index.php/therapeia/article/view/989
Rashid, T., & Asghar, H. M. (2016). Technology use, self-directed learning, student engagement and academic performance: Examining the interrelations. Computers in Human Behavior, 63, 604–612. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.05.084
Ren, S., He, J., Liu, T., & Zhang, D. (2025). Exploring the relationship between college students’ adaptability and nomophobia. Behaviour and Information Technology, 44(2), 214-230. https://doi.org/10.1080/0144929X.2024.2314755
Rodríguez-García, A.-M., García-Carmona, M., Marín-Marín, J.-A., & Moreno-Guerrero, A.-J. (2025). Nomofobia y rendimiento académic.: Prevalencia y correlación en los jóvenes. Revista Fuentes, 1(27), 107–120. https://doi.org/10.12795/revistafuentes.2025.23121
Ruano Yarpaz, L. G., Imbaquingo Bustamante, D. J., & León Revelo, E. M. (2024). La Nomofobia en estudiantes de la Universidad Técnica del Norte. Conrado, 20(101), 71–78. http://scielo.sld.cu/pdf/rc/v20n101/1990-8644-rc-20-101-71.pdf
Sánchez-Bolivar, L., Escalante-Gonzalez, S., & Vázquez, L. M. (2022). Motivation of university students in educational sciences according to gender, religious culture, and social skills during the COVID-19 pandemic. Educar, 58(1), 205–220. https://doi.org/10.5565/rev/educar.1353
Sánchez-Bolívar, L., Escalante-González, S., & Vázquez, L. M. (2025). Inteligencia emocional y habilidades sociales como variables predictoras del perfil competencial del alumnado universitario. Educación XX1, 28(2), Article 2. https://doi.org/10.5944/educxx1.42874
Santl, L., Brajkovic, L., & Kopilaš, V. (2022). Relationship between Nomophobia, Various Emotional Difficulties, and Distress Factors among Students. European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education, 12(7), 716-730. https://doi.org/10.3390/ejihpe12070053
Schwaiger, E., & Tahir, R. (2022). The impact of nomophobia and smartphone presence on fluid intelligence and attention. Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace, 16(1). https://doi.org/10.5817/CP2022-1-5
Selwyn, N. (2016). Education and technology. Key issues and debates. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Shahzad, M. F., Xu, S., Liu, H., & Zahid, H. (2025). Generative Artificial Intelligence (ChatGPT-4) and Social Media Impact on Academic Performance and Psychological Well-Being in China’s Higher Education. European Journal of Education, 60(1), e12835. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejed.12835
Tarullo, R. (2020). ¿Por qué los y las jóvenes están en las redes sociales? Un análisis de sus motivaciones a partir de la teoría de usos y gratificaciones. Revista Prisma Social, 29, 222–239..https://revistaprismasocial.es/article/view/3558
Tomczyk, Ł., & Lizde, E. S. (2022). Nomophobia and Phubbing: Wellbeing and new media education in the family among adolescents in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Children and Youth Services Review, 137, 106489. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2022.106489
Tung, S. E. H., Gan, W. Y., Poon, W. C., Lee, L. J., Ruckwongpatr, K., Kukreti, S., Griffiths, M. D., Pakpour, A. H., & Lin, C.-Y. (2025). The mediating effect of nomophobia in the relationship between problematic social media use/problematic smartphone use and psychological distress among university students. Psychology Health & Medicine, 30(7), 1409-1425. https://doi.org/10.1080/13548506.2025.2478516
Vázquez, L. M., Olmedo-Moreno, E., Álvarez-Rodríguez, J., & Rodríguez-Sabiote, C. (2025). Social skills and learning competences in university students: A study of the mediating effects of academic motivation and emotional intelligence. Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, ahead-of-print(ahead-of-print). https://doi.org/10.1108/JARHE-11-2024-0638
Vilchez-Galarza, N. D., & Vía-y-Rada-Vittes, J. F. (2024). Impacto de la nomofobia en la calidad del aprendizaje en adolescentes. Ciencia Latina Revista Científica Multidisciplinar, 8(1), 10604-10622. https://doi.org/10.37811/cl_rcm.v8i1.10369
Wang, G., & Suh, A. (2018). Disorder or Driver? The Effects of Nomophobia on Work-Related Outcomes in Organizations. Proceedings of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1145/3173574.3173624
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
Yildiz-Durak, 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. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soscij.2018.09.003
Zapata-Lamana, R., Ibarra-Mora, J., Henriquez-Beltrán, M., Sepúlveda-Martín, S., Martínez-González, L. y Cigarroa, I. (2021). Putting evidence into practice: Aumento de horas de pantalla se asocia con un bajo rendimiento escolar. ANDES PEDIATRICA, 92 (4), 565-575. https://doi.org/10.32641/andespediatr.v92i4.3317
Zhang, T., Camargo, A., Schmaal, L., Kostakos, V., & D’Alfonso, S. (2025). Nomophobia, Psychopathology, and Smartphone-Inferred Behaviors in Youth With Depression: Longitudinal Study. JMIR Formative Research, 9. https://doi.org/10.2196/57512
Zavala-Romero, E. Á. (2018). La adicción y ansiedad vinculadas a las tecnologías de la información y comunicación, incidencia en la calidad de vida de los estudiantes. Científica, 22(1), 29–39. https://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=61458000004
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. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14063229
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Álvaro Manuel Cuevas-Espín, Lindsay Michelle Vazquez, Daniel Álvarez-Ferrándiz, Clemente Rodríguez-Sabiote
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).
