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Nomophobia: An Individual’s Growing Fear of Being without a Smartphone—A Systematic Literature Review

Author

Listed:
  • Antonio-Manuel Rodríguez-García

    (Department of Didactics and School Organization, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain)

  • Antonio-José Moreno-Guerrero

    (Department of Didactics and School Organization, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain)

  • Jesús López Belmonte

    (Department of Didactics and School Organization, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain)

Abstract

This review examines the current literature focused on nomophobia (objectives, methodological design, main variables, sample details, and measurement methods) in the Scopus and Web of Science databases. To this end, we conducted a systematic literature review in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews (PRISMA) guidelines. The initial sample consisted of 142 articles, of which 42 met the inclusion criteria and were analyzed in detail. The findings show that the current research is in an exploratory phase, with a greater predominance of descriptive, nonexperimental, and cross-sectional studies that explore the prevalence of nomophobia mainly in adolescents and university students. The most widely used measurement instrument is the Nomophobia Questionnaire (NMP-Q) proposed by Yildrim and Correia. In addition, the research suggests that nomophobia negatively affects personality, self-esteem, anxiety, stress, academic performance, and other physical and mental health problems. We are therefore faced with a health problem, which negatively affects a person, causing psychological problems and physical and behavioral changes.

Suggested Citation

  • Antonio-Manuel Rodríguez-García & Antonio-José Moreno-Guerrero & Jesús López Belmonte, 2020. "Nomophobia: An Individual’s Growing Fear of Being without a Smartphone—A Systematic Literature Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(2), pages 1-19, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:2:p:580-:d:309406
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. David Moher & Alessandro Liberati & Jennifer Tetzlaff & Douglas G Altman & The PRISMA Group, 2009. "Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses: The PRISMA Statement," PLOS Medicine, Public Library of Science, vol. 6(7), pages 1-6, July.
    2. Oliveira, Thyciane Santos & Barreto, Laís Karla da Silva & El-Aouar, Walid Abbas & de Souza, Lieda Amaral & Pinheiro, Leonardo Victor de Sá, 2017. "Where is my cellphone? An analysis of nomophobia in the organizational environment," RAE - Revista de Administração de Empresas, FGV-EAESP Escola de Administração de Empresas de São Paulo (Brazil), vol. 57(6), October.
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    Cited by:

    1. Christel García-Ortiz & Miriam Lorenzo-González & Javier Fernández-Sánchez & Víctor Solano-Lizcano & Juan Del Coso & Daniel Collado-Mateo, 2025. "Recommendations for Physical Exercise as a Strategy to Reduce Problematic Use of the Internet and Digital Devices: A Perspective," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 22(5), pages 1-15, May.
    2. Janiffa Saidon & Rosidah Musa & Hairulnizam Hashim & Nurul Ainun Ahmad Atory & Faizah Md Sohid & Nuryusmawati Mohd Yusof & Syed Ashrene Syed Omar, 2023. "Device Features and/or Personality Traits? Disentangling the Determinants of Smartphone Nomophobia and Pathology among Urban Millennials," Information Management and Business Review, AMH International, vol. 15(4), pages 447-455.
    3. Rebeca Soler-Costa & Pablo Lafarga-Ostáriz & Marta Mauri-Medrano & Antonio-José Moreno-Guerrero, 2021. "Netiquette: Ethic, Education, and Behavior on Internet—A Systematic Literature Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(3), pages 1-15, January.
    4. Antonio-José Moreno-Guerrero & Gerardo Gómez-García & Jesús López-Belmonte & Carmen Rodríguez-Jiménez, 2020. "Internet Addiction in the Web of Science Database: A Review of the Literature with Scientific Mapping," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(8), pages 1-16, April.
    5. Elissavet Vagka & Charalambos Gnardellis & Areti Lagiou & Venetia Notara, 2023. "Nomophobia and Self-Esteem: A Cross Sectional Study in Greek University Students," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-11, February.
    6. Danilo B. Buctot & Nami Kim & Sun-Hee Kim, 2021. "Personal Profiles, Family Environment, Patterns of Smartphone Use, Nomophobia, and Smartphone Addiction across Low, Average, and High Perceived Academic Performance Levels among High School Students in the Philippines," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(10), pages 1-19, May.
    7. Jéssica Ortega-Barón & Joaquín González-Cabrera & Juan M. Machimbarrena & Irene Montiel, 2021. "Safety.Net: A Pilot Study on a Multi-Risk Internet Prevention Program," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(8), pages 1-14, April.
    8. Fareed Kaviani & Brady Robards & Kristie L. Young & Sjaan Koppel, 2020. "Nomophobia: Is the Fear of Being without a Smartphone Associated with Problematic Use?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(17), pages 1-19, August.
    9. Antonio-Manuel Rodríguez-García & José-Antonio Marín-Marín & Juan-Antonio López-Núñez & Antonio-José Moreno-Guerrero, 2021. "Do Age and Educational Stage Influence No-Mobile-Phone Phobia?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(9), pages 1-11, April.
    10. Haitham Jahrami & Ammar Abdelaziz & Latifa Binsanad & Omar A. Alhaj & Mohammed Buheji & Nicola Luigi Bragazzi & Zahra Saif & Ahmed S. BaHammam & Michael V. Vitiello, 2021. "The Association between Symptoms of Nomophobia, Insomnia and Food Addiction among Young Adults: Findings of an Exploratory Cross-Sectional Survey," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(2), pages 1-11, January.
    11. José-María Romero-Rodríguez & Inmaculada Aznar-Díaz & José-Antonio Marín-Marín & Rebeca Soler-Costa & Carmen Rodríguez-Jiménez, 2020. "Impact of Problematic Smartphone Use and Instagram Use Intensity on Self-Esteem with University Students from Physical Education," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(12), pages 1-10, June.
    12. Kamil Kopecký & Francisco-Domingo Fernández-Martín & René Szotkowski & Gerardo Gómez-García & Klára Mikulcová, 2021. "Behaviour of Children and Adolescents and the Use of Mobile Phones in Primary Schools in the Czech Republic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(16), pages 1-15, August.
    13. Inês Saraiva Ferreira & Belén Rando & António Esteves & Milena Castro & Inês Xavier & Ana Maria Abreu, 2025. "Nomophobia and Its Predictors: The Role of Psychological, Sociodemographic, and Internet Use Factors," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 22(10), pages 1-16, September.
    14. Chiara Costa & Michele Teodoro & Manuela Coco & Francesca Verduci & Federica Giambò & Sebastiano Italia & Angela Alibrandi & Concettina Fenga, 2023. "Smartphone Use Among Resident Physicians: Prevalence and Risk Factors in Clinical Practice," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(3), pages 21582440231, August.
    15. Antonio-José Moreno-Guerrero & Inmaculada Aznar-Díaz & Pilar Cáceres-Reche & Antonio-Manuel Rodríguez-García, 2020. "Do Age, Gender and Poor Diet Influence the Higher Prevalence of Nomophobia among Young People?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(10), pages 1-13, May.

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