Always On, Always Trapped: Nomophobia and the Rising Tide of Stress

Abstract

Nomophobia is defined as the fear or anxiety of being without access to one’s mobile phone. It has emerged as a widespread behavioral phenomenon in the digital age. In this review we synthesized the findings from 35 empirical studies to investigate the prevalence of nomophobia and its association with stress. After utilizing the systematic search strategy and predefined inclusion criteria we identified the relevant studies from Google Scholar and analyzed them thematically. The results consistently indicated high levels of nomophobia with the majority of participants reporting moderate to severe symptoms. We found significant positive correlation between nomophobia and stress across diverse populations, including students, workplace employees, and others. Further, nomophobia was frequently linked with additional psychological factors such as anxiety, depression, loneliness, coping style, and impaired academic performance. These findings emphasize the urgent need for mental health interventions and targeted digital literacy programmes. To gain the deeper understanding and effectively addressing this emerging psychological concern, using multiple research methodologies like experimental, qualitative, longitudinal research etc. are recommended.