Abstract
Abstract Background: Nowadays, Smartphone addiction is recognized as a significant public health concern. This universal issue has lead to a psychiatric condition termed "nomophobia" arising from excessive smartphone usage and dependency on it. Objective: The present study sought to evaluate the frequency of nomophobia among Pakistani university students of engineering and medicine. It also explored the potential association of influence of gender on the occurrence of Nomophobia. Materials and Methods: It is a Cross-sectional study conducted in public and private medical and engineering varsities of Multan and Rawalpindi from January 2023 to July 2023. A sample of 258 medical and engineering students completed a questionnaire with sections on demographics, mobile phone use, and the standardized NMP-Q scale's 20 items. The respondents were classified as having a mild, moderate, or severe nomophobia based on their overall NMP-Q scores. Results: The study showed that about 80% of students spent greater than 4 hours on their mobile phones. Engineering students experienced a significantly higher rate of severe nomophobia (69.9%) compared to medical students (30.1%). In terms of gender, women showed lower rates of nomophobia in all three categories than men. Conclusion: Nomophobia is highly prevalent among the surveyed college students, particularly among distinct groups like engineering majors, where engineering enrollment shows a positive correlation with the severity of nomophobia. To address this escalating concern, targeted initiatives promoting responsible technology use according to the students' needs are vital. Further research is required to explore the gender gap and technological reliance behaviors in academic settings.