Relationship between Nomophobia and Attention among Medical Students in Jakarta

Kevin Tanoto; Eva Suryani; Satya Joewana

doi:10.15850/amj.v7n4.2033

Relationship between Nomophobia and Attention among Medical Students in Jakarta

Kevin Tanoto, Eva Suryani, Satya Joewana

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.

Keywords

Attention, nomophobia, smartphone

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.15850/amj.v7n4.2033