Nomofobia na população portuguesa em contexto pandémico: estudo comparativo antes e durante a pandemia COVID-19

Ilda Maria Massano-Cardoso; Sofia Figueiredo; Ana Galhardo

doi:10.31211/rpics.2022.8.1.239

Authors

Ilda Maria Massano-Cardoso Instituto Superior Miguel Torga, Coimbra; Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Coimbra; Centro de Estudos e Investigação em Saúde da Universidade de Coimbra (CEISUC) http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2510-2348
Sofia Figueiredo Instituto Superior Miguel Torga, Coimbra https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6054-5115
Ana Galhardo Instituto Superior Miguel Torga, Coimbra; Universidade de Coimbra, Centro de Investigação em Neuropsicologia e Intervenção Cognitiva e Comportamental (CINEICC) https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3484-6683

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31211/rpics.2022.8.1.239

Keywords:

Nomophobia, COVID-19, Use of screens, Digital well-being

Abstract

Background and Aim: Nomophobia (no mobile phone) is defined as a digital era phobia characterized by an excessive fear of not being able to use the cell phone. In the COVID-19 pandemic context, there was an intensification of information and communication technology. The current study aimed to explore differences in nomophobia levels during the COVID-19 pandemic and those evidenced before the pandemic situation. Additionally, we sought to analyze the relationship between nomophobia and variables such as the frequency of use of screens for professional purposes, the use of cell phone management, and to what extent the pandemic made screen use a recurrent practice. We hypothesize that the fact that most of the daily activities took place at home (e.g., teleworking, online classes), there is a global decrease of nomophobia levels. Methods: Cross-sectional study. The sample comprised 288 participants from the general population in a pandemic situation and 500 participants who took part in a survey conducted before the pandemic. All participants completed online the European Portuguese version of the Nomophobia Questionnaire. Results: The nomophobia levels observed during the pandemic situation were lower compared to the pre-pandemic period. There were no statistically significant differences in nomophobia levels by sex, marital status, or recurrent use of the screen. Nomophobia was not associated with age, use of screens for professional purposes, or mobile phone management. Conclusions: Given that most activities occurred at home (e.g., teleworking, online classes), the nomophobia levels during the Covid-19 pandemic were lower. This seems to be related to the global decrease of the fear of not being able to communicate through the smartphone, losing connectivity, not being able to access information and the fear of not having a Wi-Fi signal or running out of battery.

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