A study to assess the degree of nomophobia among the undergraduate students of a medical college in Bhopal

Background: Nomophobia is no mobile phobia that is the fear of being out of contact with one’s own mobile phone. In today’s world, cell phone technology introduces new senses of speed and connectivity to social life. Since the younger generation is the latest consumer of the mobile phones, and the under 25 year age group in professional colleges like medical colleges use mobile phones quite frequently. This study was conducted to find out the prevalence of nomophobia in Gandhi Medical College, Bhopal.

Methods: The study was a cross sectional study conducted for a period of 3 months (June to September) in 2016 on students of first proff, second proff junior, second proff senior, junior final proff and senior final proff of Gandhi Medical College, Bhopal. A total of 473 students were selected by purposive sampling. The data was collected using a questionnaire Scoring was calculated as per NMP Q.

Results: The study was conducted on a total of 473 students undergraduate MBBS students. The percentage of female participants was 51.6%. Majority (56.1%) of participants belonged to age group of 20-22 years. More than 57% participants started using smart mobile phones before attaining age of 18 years. 291 (61.5%) were having moderate, 6.1% having severe nomophobia and only one participant was not suffering from nomophobia.

Conclusions: The introduction of mobile phones and new technologies has shaped our daily life, with both positive and negative aspects.