Prevalence of Nomophobia and Phantom Vibration Syndrome among University Students

Description

Page: 672-677

Dipanjana Chatterjee (Amity Institute of Psychology and Allied Sciences, Amity University Kolkata, Kolkata, West Bengal)

In today’s world using a mobile phone has become a basic need for every individual in every stratum. It not only eases connectivity but also makes us completely dependent on it. With our more financial liberty, we are bringing the latest version of smartphones. Unbeknownst to us, we are inviting mental illness into our lives. The term nomophobia can be understood as a phobia of no mobile phone where an individual is fearful when they do not have their mobile with them and somehow, they are unable to use the mobile. Research has shown several psychosocial ill effects of nomophobia, such as extreme stress and lack of self-esteem, lack of routine and discipline in life, emotional dysregulation, lack of sense of responsibility. Phantom Vibration Syndrome happens when due to regular use and increased sensitivity brought on by the constant vibration sensation that the body receives, people experience their smartphone buzzing without receiving any real notification. The present study was conducted with 100 undergraduate students from different disciplines at a private university in Rajarhat, Kolkata. Most of them were female (95%) from 18-21 years of age. It was found that 53% of the study group felt vibration of their mobile phone when it was not in actual, 73% got bothered to feel like the vibration, 51% felt their mobile phone was ringing when it was not and they also got bothered by that. 22% of the total survey group had severe levels of nomophobia