Nomophobia: A new disease epidemic among students during the era of online learning

Abstract

Introduction: The Covid-19 pandemic has brought changes to the education system, one of which is the implementation of online learning. This condition makes students like students have to use digital devices, even with a more intense frequency. Therefore, this study aims to determine the level of nomophobia in students as participants in online learning. Methods: This research is descriptive research with a quantitative approach. The study was conducted with a one-time survey (cross-sectional survey). The research was conducted through 3 stages: preparation of the nomophobia measurement instrument, data collection, and measurement of the level of nomophobia. Results: 287 respondents were obtained, then the demographics of the respondents can be grouped by gender, age, internet fund source, and online learning media used. Most of the respondents were female (71%) and teenagers (12-25 years) (99%). In addition, the results show that nomophobia has become a new disease epidemic among students, especially in online learning, that requires an increase in the frequency of smartphone access. There are no respondents who are not nomophobia. The respondents have mild nomophobia (6%), moderate nomophobia (40%), and severe nomophobia (54%). Conclusions: Most of the respondents had a severe level of nomophobia. In addition, the students feel uncomfortable when communicating and accessing information via smartphones or other gadgets, lose connectivity, and cannot use smartphones as desired. Their lives are very dependent on smartphones or other devices. One of the triggers is online learning, where all processes are carried out through digital media. At least students who are not nomophobia also show that nomophobia has proven to be one of the negative impacts that students have to face as participants in online learning.