Relationship between Nomophobia and Attention among Medical Students in Jakarta

Abstract

Background: The advancements in technology in the form of smartphones have made life easier; however, some negative effects have been recorded with regards to the use of smartphone. Among these negative effects are nomophobia, or a phobia of no mobile phone, and lack of attention. This study explored the relationship between nomophobia and attention in medical students. Methods: This was a cross-sectional analytic study on medical students in Jakarta in 2019. The Nomophobia Questionnaire (NMP-Q) was used to measure the level of nomophobia and the Six Letter Cancellation Test (SLCT) was used to measure attention. Data collected were analyzed using a simple linear regression test. Result: There was a weak negative relationship between the severity of nomophobia and attention (r=.161). However, nomophobia score was a very weak predictor for attention with an adjusted r-squared score of .021. Conclusions: Nomophobia does not necessarily affect the attention of medical students. Excessive mobile phone use does cause nomophobia and lack of attention. Therefore, smartphones need to be used wisely.

Pengaruh Kontrol Diri terhadap Nomophobia yang Dimediasi oleh Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) pada Generasi Z di Bandung Raya

“…Gejala umum pada penderita nomophobia sering kali berupa ketegangan, mudah tersinggung, dan cemas saat tidak bersentuhan langsung dengan smartphone (Dongre et al, 2017). Nomophobia disebut sebagai fobia modern yang terjadi karena interaksi antara manusia dengan teknologi, khususnya ponsel pintar (Tanoto et al, 2020). Individu dengan nomophobia cenderung menghabiskan lebih banyak waktu di depan smartphone (Maryani et al, 2021).…”

Nomophobia (No MObile PHone PhoBIA) Among Medical Students: A Literature Review

“…According to research in the literature, all medical students have some degree of nomophobia. More than 50% of medical students have a moderate level of nomophobia, while 5-20% had severe nomophobia [15], [26]- [28], [31], [33]. A higher frequency was found among medical students in several medical colleges; almost 100% of the students had nomophobia [28], [31], [33].…”

“…Excessive use of mobile phones can cause nomophobia and lack of attention, but lack of attention is not related to nomophobia. Other functions of the mobile phone, such as pop-up notifications, functions related to the smartphone regarded as "productive breaks" such as playing games or calling relatives, and studyrelated tasks such as searching for medical resources, could all contribute to the observed lack of attention [15].…”

“…The time spent on the phone is for leisure purposes or academic advancement. Some medical students admit to being distracted by their phones, which may affect patient safety and academic success [15]. Therefore, it is essential to provide knowledge about nomophobia and understand how it affects medical students.…”