Article

Information Development
2016, Vol. 32(5) 1322–1331
A growing fear: Prevalence ª The Author(s) 2015
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of nomophobia among Turkish DOI: 10.1177/0266666915599025
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college students

Caglar Yildirim
Iowa State University

Evren Sumuer
Kocaeli University

Müge Adnan
Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University

Soner Yildirim
Middle East Technical University

Abstract
The purpose of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of nomophobia (the fear of being out of
mobile phone contact) among young adults in Turkey. The Nomophobia Questionnaire (NMP-Q) was admi-
nistered to 537 Turkish college students. The results revealed 42.6% of young adults had nomophobia, and
their greatest fears were related to communication and information access. The study also found that gender
and the duration of smartphone ownership had an effect on young adults’ nomophobic behaviors, whereas age
and the duration of mobile phone ownership had no effect. Based on these results, implications, limitations, and
further studies were discussed.

Keywords
nomophobia, smartphones, young adults, Turkey

Submitted: 16 February, 2015; Accepted: 13 July, 2015.

Possession of smartphones leads to higher levels of nomophobia.

Introduction Just as their functionality and capabilities are inces-

Over the last decade, mobile phones have become the santly increasing, so are the problems associated with
most pervasive mobile devices, which have morphed mobile phones and their negative effects on individu-
into smartphones with advanced features (Cheever als (Hong et al., 2012). Consequently, researchers have
et al., 2014). GSMA Intelligence (2015) reports that examined various problems emanating from mobile
today, the number of active mobile subscriptions phone use, including excessive use of mobile phones
exceeds the total world population with more than (Pourrazavi et al., 2014), mobile phone dependence
7.5 billion subscriptions compared to a total popula- (Toda et al., 2006), mobile phone addiction (Ehren-
tion of around 7.2 billion. Considering that an average berg et al., 2008; Hong et al., 2012) and so on.
mobile device user may have more than one active
subscriptions, the number of active unique mobile sub-
Corresponding author:
scribers are reported to be above 3.7 billion. Both Caglar Yildirim, MSc, 1620 Howe Hall, Ames, IA 50011, USA.
numbers indicate the growing importance of mobile Tel: +1 515 212 0110.
devices in people’s lives. Email: [email protected]
Yildirim et al: A growing fear: Prevalence of nomophobia among Turkish college students 1323

Recently, another problem, nomophobia, has garnered and another case by King et al. (2013) examining
some attention from researchers (King et al., 2010; nomophobia as a manifest behavior.
King et al., 2013; King et al., 2014; Yildirim and Cor- In an attempt to investigate the prevalence of nomo-
reia, 2015). phobia in the UK, a previous study revealed that 53%
of mobile phone users in the UK suffered from nomo-
phobia (Mail Online, 2008). Another study reported
Literature review that the percentage of individuals with nomophobic
Initially coined during a study conducted in 2008 by behaviors increased to 66%, and that young adults
the UK Post Office to explore anxieties that mobile aged 18 to 24 were most prone to nomophobia (Secur-
phone users suffer from (SecurEnvoy, 2012), nomo- Envoy, 2012). Along the same lines, previous studies
phobia is considered a modern age phobia recently have shown that problems associated with mobile
presented as a byproduct of our interactions with phone use are particularly common among young
mobile phones (Yildirim and Correia, 2015). The term adults (Cheever et al., 2014), who are early adopters
is an acronym for no mobile phone phobia, it is the of mobile technologies (Guzeller and Cosguner,
fear of being unable to use one’s mobile phone or 2012).
being unreachable through one’s mobile phone, and Sharma et al.’s (2015) recent cross-sectional study
refers to the feelings of discomfort or anxiety experi- examining nomophobic behaviors of Indian medical
enced by individuals when they are unable to use their students has reported that almost 75% of the partici-
mobile phones or utilize the affordances these devices pant students are nomophobes (i.e., a noun referring
provide (King et al., 2013; Yildirim and Correia, to a person with nomophobia), and 83% experience
2015). An adjective, the term nomophobic is used to panic attacks when they cannot access their mobile
describe the characteristics of behaviors related to phones.
nomophobia. Yildirim and Correia (2015) argue that smartphones
The case report by King et al. (2010), considered increase the severity of nomophobia due to their
one of the first research studies on nomophobia, numerous capabilities (e.g. Internet access, social media
describes nomophobia as a 21st century disorder con- and other applications, instant notifications), leading to
nected with new technologies. The researchers define an increase in users’ involvement with their smart-
nomophobia as a condition denoting “discomfort or phones and more intense feelings of anxiety and distress
anxiety when out of mobile phone (MP) or computer when they are unable to use these capabilities. Consid-
contact. It is the fear of becoming technologically ering the proliferation of smartphones in Turkey, as
incommunicable, distant from the MP or not con- evidenced by the increase in the smartphone penetra-
nected to the Web” (King et al., 2010: 52). King tion rate from 14% in 2012 to 39% in 2014 (Consumer
et al. (2014: 28), in their recent study, define nomo- Barometer, n.d.) and the adoption of smartphones
phobia as “modern fear of being unable to communi- mainly by young adults (Nielsen, 2013), investigating
cate through a mobile phone (MP) or the Internet” the prevalence of nomophobia among Turkish young
and a “situational phobia related to agoraphobia and adults will contribute to the understanding of how
includes the fear of becoming ill and not receiving mobile technologies are impacting young adults in Tur-
immediate assistance”. International Business Times’ key. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to
definition (2013), on the other hand, lists some of the investigate the prevalence of nomophobia among Turk-
situations in which people get anxious: “Nomophobia ish young adults and demographic factors affecting
… is an anxiety which people face when they feel they their nomophobic behaviors.
could not get signal from a mobile tower, run out of
battery, forget to take the phone with them or simply
do not receive calls, texts or email notifications for a Methodology
certain period of time. In short, it is a psychological The present study employed a causal-comparative
fear of losing mobile or cell phone contact” (para. 2). research design, which focuses on the causes and con-
Nomophobia has received a great deal of attention sequences of differences that are already present
by media, yet research into nomophobia has been among participants (Fraenkel et al., 2012). Accord-
scant. A review of literature includes the aforemen- ingly, this study attempted to determine the causes for
tioned case study of King et al. (2010) examining the and consequences of differences between participants
relationship between nomophobia and panic disorder, regarding their nomophobic behaviors.
1324 Information Development 32(5)

Participants’ nomophobic behaviors were measured The NMP-Q consists of 20 items addressing the
using an online questionnaire. It was administered to four dimensions of nomophobia: (1) not being able
college students who voluntarily consented to partici- to communicate, (2) losing connectedness, (3) not
pate in the study during class time. The questionnaire being able to access information, and (4) giving up
did not include any questions that could be used to convenience. All items are rated using a 7-point Likert
identify the respondents, and the students were scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly
ensured that their responses would remain confidential agree). For the context of the present study, the NMP-Q
and anonymous. was translated from the source language (i.e., English)
to the target language (i.e., Turkish) by a bilingual
expert. After the revisions made to the translated items
Instrumentation by three experts in the field of instructional technology, the
In the literature, there are few studies focused on authors of the present study and the developer of the
nomophobia as a theoretical construct. Although King NMP-Q checked the items and minor corrections were
et al. (2014) developed a questionnaire to measure made to some of them. Moreover, the questionnaire con-
nomophobia, the questionnaire lacks sound psycho- tained a section including questions related to demo-
metric justification regarding its content validity and graphics such as gender, age, mobile phone ownership,
reliability. The questionnaire was developed by two and smartphone ownership.
clinicians and was devised as a mobile phone use
questionnaire (King et al., 2014). However, the ques- Pretest for the validity and reliability of the
tionnaire was not examined for its underlying structure Turkish NMP-Q
with factor analysis, nor was it tested for internal con-
A pretest was performed to test the validity and relia-
sistency (King et al., 2014). Thus, the mobile phone
bility of the Turkish NMP-Q as a measure of nomo-
use questionnaire by King et al. (2014) needs to be fur-
phobia among Turkish college students. In the
ther investigated for its psychometric properties.
pretest, data was collected from 306 students at two
In a recent study, Yildirim and Correia (2015)
public universities in Turkey. Despite the fact that all
devised a self-reported questionnaire to measure col-
of the participants reported having a mobile phone,
lege students’ nomophobic behaviors. The NMP-Q
91.5% of them (n = 280) possessed a smartphone.
was developed using a mixed-methods research
On average, they were smartphone users for 2.68 years
design, in which the researchers initially qualitatively
(SD = 1.48). Of the smartphone users, 52.2% (n = 147)
explored the dimensions of nomophobia through inter-
were male and 47.5% (n = 133) were female.
views with college students and devised the question-
A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was con-
naire based on these dimensions (Yildirim and Correia,
ducted to confirm the underlying structure of the
2015). To determine whether the items in the NMP-Q
items, using AMOS 22 statistical software. Given
belonged to their dimensions, the authors examined
threshold values for the acceptable model fit (Hair
the underlying factor structure of the questionnaire
et al., 2006), normed χ2 ≤ 3, CFI ≥ .90, and RMSEA
through exploratory factor analysis and corroborated
≤ .08, the results of the CFA indicated that the relations
that the items fell under their respective dimensions
between factors and their items were valid (χ2(164) =
(Yildirim and Correia, 2015). Moreover, using Cron-
469.90, normed χ2 = 2.86, CFI = .92, RMSEA =
bach’s alpha, the authors investigated the internal con-
.08). In the pretest, the reliability of the NMP-Q was
sistency of the questionnaire to examine whether it
found to be satisfactorily high (Cronbach’s alpha =
was a reliable measure of college students’ nomopho-
.92). Moreover, the Cronbach’s alpha values of the
bic behaviors. Given the fact that a Cronbach’s alpha
four factors were 90, .74, .94, and .91, respectively,
value above .8 indicates evidence for good reliability
indicating satisfactorily high reliability. In conclusion,
of a scale (Field, 2005), the reliability of the NMP-Q
the Turkish NMP-Q was a valid and reliable measure
was high (Cronbach’s alpha = .95). In addition, the
of nomophobia. The items of the questionnaire in
Cronbach’s alpha values for the four dimensions of the
Turkish are given in Appendix A.
NMP-Q were .94, .87, .83, and .81, respectively.
Therefore, due to being a valid and reliable self-
reported questionnaire specifically developed to mea- Sampling
sure the nomophobic behaviors of college students, the The participants consisted of 537 college students at a
NMP-Q was adopted in the present study. public university in Turkey, who were conveniently
Yildirim et al: A growing fear: Prevalence of nomophobia among Turkish college students 1325

Table 1. Item Analysis of the NMP-Q.

Items M SD

Factor 1: Not Being Able to Access Information 4.52 1.64

1. I would feel uncomfortable without constant access to information through my smartphone 4.43 1.92
2. I would be annoyed if I could not look information up on my smartphone when I wanted to do so. 4.52 1.92
3. Being unable to get the news (e.g., happenings, weather, etc.) on my smartphone would make me 4.38 1.96
nervous.
4. I would be annoyed if I could not use my smartphone and/or its capabilities when I wanted to do so. 4.73 1.86
Factor 2: Losing Connectedness 4.02 1.38
5. Running out of battery in my smartphone would scare me. 5.07 1.93
6. If I were to run out of credits or hit my monthly data limit, I would panic. 3.66 2.02
7. If I did not have a data signal or could not connect to Wi-Fi, then I would constantly check to see if I had 4.52 1.87
a signal or could find a Wi-Fi network.
8. If I could not use my smartphone, I would be afraid of getting stranded somewhere. 2.72 1.90
9. If I could not check my smartphone for a while, I would feel a desire to check it. 4.15 1.93
Factor 3: Not Being Able to Communicate 4.62 1.61
10. I would feel anxious because I could not instantly communicate with my family and/or friends. 4.46 1.94
11. I would be worried because my family and/or friends could not reach me. 4.82 1.82
12. I would feel nervous because I would not be able to receive text messages and calls. 4.63 1.85
13. I would be anxious because I could not keep in touch with my family and/or friends. 4.67 1.80
14. I would be nervous because I could not know if someone had tried to get a hold of me. 4.49 1.82
15. I would feel anxious because my constant connection to my family and friends would be broken. 4.64 1.80
Factor 4: Giving Up Convenience 3.06 1.64
16. I would be nervous because I would be disconnected from my online identity. 3.05 1.85
17. I would be uncomfortable because I could not stay up-to-date with social media and online networks. 3.05 1.92
18. I would feel awkward because I could not check my notifications for updates from my connections and 2.99 1.89
online networks.
19. I would feel anxious because I could not check my email messages. 3.04 1.89
20. I would feel weird because I would not know what to do. 3.17 2.03
Note. n = 484.

available for the study. Although convenience samples Analyses

limit the representativeness of the population, informa- In the data analysis, the average scores of items load-
tion on demographics and other characteristics of the ing to the factors of NMP-Q were computed to con-
participants is a means to increase the external validity struct factor scores for each college student. The
of the study because it enables other researchers to responses of the college students were summarized
judge the extent to which any findings apply to other with means and standard deviations to explore their
settings (Fraenkel et al., 2012). nomophobic behaviors (See Table 1). Then, a two-
Except for three participants, all (99.4%) college stage cluster analysis was performed to identify groups
students reported having a mobile phone. Of the of college students which were homogenous within
mobile phone users, 90.6% (n = 484) indicated having themselves, but heterogeneous with each other,
a smartphone. Almost three quarters (74.6%, n = 361) regarding their nomophobic behaviors. Before the
of the smartphone users were female. The mean age of cluster analysis, the presence of outliers, collinearity
the smartphone users was 20.02 years (SD = 1.65) with among variables, and the adequacy of sample size
ages ranging from 17 to 34. More than half of them were examined. Individual variables of the NMP-Q
(55.8%, n = 270) were freshmen, while sophomores were used in the cluster analysis, as the use of factor
accounted for 38.2% (n = 185). Despite using a mobile scores causes a poor representation of underlying
phone for an average of 7.04 years (SD = 1.99), the groups (Hair et al., 2006). The default distance mea-
college students had a smartphone for an average of sure, log-likelihood, was used to identify clusters of
2.48 years (SD = 1.56). college students.
1326 Information Development 32(5)

Table 2. Means and Standard Deviations of Nomophobia Scores by Gender.

Nomophobia

Not Being Able to Access Losing Not Being Able to Giving Up

Information Connectedness Communicate Convenience

Group N M SD M SD M SD M SD

Male 361 4.03 1.71 3.62 1.31 4.06 1.52 3.04 1.60
Female 123 4.68 1.59 4.16 1.38 4.81 1.59 3.06 1.65

One-way between-groups multivariate analysis of with respect to the feeling of getting stranded some-
variance (MANOVA) tests were performed in order where where a smartphone could not be used (M =
to investigate whether college students’ nomophobic 2.72, SD = 1.90).
behaviors differed in terms of gender, age, duration In addition, a two-stage cluster analysis was con-
of having a mobile phone, and duration of having a ducted to identify groups of young adults with respect
smartphone. Four factors of the NMP-Q were used to their nomophobic behaviors. Preliminary analyses
as dependent variables. Before the MANOVA tests, showed that there was no violation of assumptions
by using median split, the variables of age, duration which might cause a poor representation of the clus-
of having a mobile phone, and duration of having a ters. Using log-likelihood distance measure, a two
smartphone were collapsed into categories. Prelimi- cluster solution was retained. The clusters were
nary analyses were conducted to test the assumptions labelled as “nomophobic” (n = 206) and “non-nomo-
of MANOVA, including independence of observation, phobic” (n = 278). College students with nomophobic
equality of covariance matrices, correlation and nor- behaviors had a greater fear of not having their mobile
mality of dependent variables, and outliers (Hair phone than those without nomophobic behaviors. The
et al., 2006). Due to its robustness (Field, 2005), Pil- most important predictors of the clusters were the vari-
lai’s trace was preferred to assess statistical signifi- ables mainly related to “not being able to communi-
cance between groups on the dimensions of the cate” (i.e. item 12, item 13, item 14, and item 10).
dependent variable. In order to detect group differ- The quality of cluster solution was fair (average sil-
ences, a significant MANOVA test was followed up houette = .04).
with discriminant analysis because the relationships
among the dependent variables had an effect. Rather
than univariate ANOVAs, this approach was a useful Gender effect
way to take into account the nature of the relationship A one-way between-groups MANOVA was conducted
among dependent variables (Field, 2005). In all the to examine the effect of gender on nomophobic beha-
analyses, significance level was set as .05 and IBM viors of young adults. Using Pillai’s trace, there was a
Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) 22 statistically significant effect of gender on young
was used. adults’ nomophobic behaviors, V = .07, F (4, 479) =
9.36, p < .05; Pillai’s trace = .07; partial η2 = .07.
Results Moreover, the comparison of mean nomophobia
scores showed that females had higher nomophobia
Nomophobic behaviors of young adults scores than did males (Table 2).
Table 1 summarizes young adults’ responses to the The MANOVA was followed up with discriminant
items in the NMP-Q. As compared to the other factors, analysis. There was only one discriminant function
the college students reported greater fear levels for two (canonical R2 = .27), which significantly differentiated
factors, “not being able to access information” (M = the young adults’ gender, Л = .93, χ2 (4) = 36.11, p <
4.52, SD = 1.64) and “not being able to communicate” .05. The relationship between nomophobic behaviors
(M = 4.62, SD = 1.61). They had the highest mean and the discriminant function indicated that “not being
score on the item regarding the fear of running out able to communicate” (r = .75), “not being able to access
of smartphone battery (M = 5.07, SD = 1.93). On the information” (r = .63), and “losing connectedness” (r =
other hand, they had the lowest mean score on the item .62) loaded more highly onto the function as compared
Yildirim et al: A growing fear: Prevalence of nomophobia among Turkish college students 1327

Table 3. Means and Standard Deviations of Nomophobia Scores by the Duration of Smartphone Ownership.

Nomophobia

Not Being Able

to Access Losing Not Being Able to Giving Up
Information Connectedness Communicate Convenience

Group N M SD M SD M SD M SD

Smartphone user for 2 years or less 289 4.48 1.61 4.00 1.39 4.50 1.59 2.92 1.56
Smartphone user for more than 2 years 195 4.57 1.69 4.06 1.37 4.79 1.62 3.26 1.73

to “giving up convenience” (r = .02). These variables nomophobic behaviors and the discriminant function
were more important in gender differences. revealed that “giving up convenience” (r = .73) and
“not being able to communicate” (r = .61) loaded more
Age effect highly onto the function than “not being able to access
information” (r = .18) and “losing connectedness” (r =
A one-way between-groups MANOVA was performed .13). The former variables were more important in dif-
to investigate the effect of age on young adults’ ferentiating the college students with respect to the
nomophobic behaviors. Using Pillai’s trace, there duration of smartphone ownership.
was no statistically significant difference between
youngers (20 years or below) and elders (over 20 years)
in their nomophobic behaviors, V = .02, F (4, 479) = Discussion
2.02, p = .09. Given the need to address the scarcity of research into
nomophobia, “the fear of being out of mobile phone
Effect of the duration of mobile phone ownership contact” (SecurEnvoy, 2012), this study shed light
A one-way between-groups MANOVA was conducted on the prevalence of nomophobia among young adults
to explore the effect of duration of mobile phone own- in Turkey. The results of the cluster analysis distin-
ership on young adults’ nomophobic behaviors. Using guished between college students with nomophobic
Pillai’s trace, there was no statistically significant dif- behaviors and those without nomophobic behaviors.
ference between young adults having a mobile phone Of the Turkish young adults who indicated having a
for 7 years or less and those having a mobile phone for smartphone in the study, 42.6% (n=206) had nomo-
more than 7 years in their nomophobic behaviors, V = phobic behaviors. The results of the study disclosed
.01; F (4, 479) = 1.42, p = .23. that the college students reported higher levels of fear
for the two dimensions of nomophobia, namely “not
being to communicate” and “not being able to access
Effect of the duration of smartphone ownership information”, attesting to the importance of communi-
As for the effect of the duration of smartphone owner- cation and information access for young adults. Of
ship on nomophobic behaviors, results indicated note, the young adults in the study reported having the
a statistically significant difference in nomophobic highest level of fear about running out of smartphone
behaviors between young adults having a smartphone battery, which is in line with a previous study reveal-
for 2 years or less, and those owning a smartphone for ing young individuals’ tendency to having a charged
more than 2 years, V = .02; F (4, 479) = 2.43, p < .05; battery all the time as a means of ensuring that they
partial η2 = .02. Table 3 shows means and standard could use their phone anywhere, anytime (Walsh
deviations of nomophobia scores by the duration of et al., 2008). Thus, it may be argued that, for young
smartphone ownership. adults, running out of smartphone battery may lead
Following the MANOVA, a discriminant function to more intense levels of nomophobia.
analysis was performed. There was only one discrimi- The study also revealed that gender differences
nant function (canonical R2 = .14), which significantly existed in Turkish young adults’ college students’
differentiated the duration of smartphone ownership, nomophobic behaviors. Based on their scores in the
Л = .98, χ2 (4) = 9.66, p < .05. The relationship between NMP-Q, female young adults demonstrated more
1328 Information Development 32(5)

nomophobic behaviors than males. However, in rela- Consequently, the association between age and nomo-
tion to gender differences, previous studies reported phobia is yet to be clarified by future studies using
mixed results (Guzeller and Cosguner, 2012; SecurEn- broader age groups.
voy, 2012). Therefore, further studies investigating the Lastly, the results revealed that the duration of
effect of gender on individuals’ proclivity to nomo- mobile phone ownership had no effect on young
phobia are imperative. adults’ nomophobic behaviors, whereas the duration
As for the effect of age, the results indicated no sig- of smartphone ownership did. This finding supports
nificant differences between the nomophobia scores of the argument that smartphones lead to higher levels
the younger participants (20 years or below) and older of nomophobia (Yildirim and Correia, 2015).
participants (over 20 years). This finding is When interpreting the results of the study, a few
in congruence with a previous study disclosing that limitations should be taken into consideration.
nomophobia was prevalent among all age groups First, in the sample used to investigate the preva-
(SecurEnvoy, 2012), and with another study that found lence of nomophobia among Turkish college students,
no significant differences with respect to age in Turk- females were overrepresented (74.6%). Second, the
ish college students’ mobile phone addiction level age distribution of the sample was homogenous,
(Çağan et al., 2014). It should be noted, however, that as the sample consisted mainly of freshmen and
the majority of the participants in the study (96.6%) sophomore college students. To make more general-
were aged between 18 and 23. Thus, the limited age izable statements about the nomophobic behaviors
range may be a possible explanation for this finding, of young adults, future studies should solicit a
because previous studies investigating the relationship broader sample heterogonous with respect to gender
between age and problematic mobile phone use beha- and age.
viors have provided substantial evidence for the effect Overall, the present study provides some prelimi-
of age on problematic mobile phone use behaviors, nary evidence for the prevalence of nomophobia
with young individuals being more likely to demon- among young adults in Turkey. It emphasizes the
strate such behaviors (Augner and Hacker, 2012; importance of investigating nomophobia and the need
Buckner et al., 2012; Sanchez-Martinez and Otero, for future research in this area in order to identify the
2009; Smetaniuk, 2014; Walsh et al., 2011). risk groups and establish protection strategies.

Appendix A - The items of the NMP-Q

(English & Turkish)

Original English Items

(Yildirim and Correia, 2015) Turkish Items

Item # Please indicate how much you agree or disagree with Akıllı telefonun kullanımınızla ilgili olarak aşağıdaki
each statement in relation to your smartphone. ifadelere katılma derecenizi belirtiniz.
1. I would feel uncomfortable without constant access to Akıllı telefonumdan sürekli olarak bilgiye
information through my smartphone. erişemediğimde kendimi rahatsız hissederim.
2. I would be annoyed if I could not look information up onAkıllı telefonumdan istediğim her an bilgiye
my smartphone when I wanted to do so. bakamadığımda canım sıkılır.
3. Being unable to get the news (e.g., happenings, weather,Haberlere (örneğin neler olup bittiğine, hava durumuna
etc.) on my smartphone would make me nervous. ve diğer haberlere) akıllı telefonumdan ulaşamamak
beni huzursuz yapar.
4. I would be annoyed if I could not use my smartphone Akıllı telefonumu ve telefonumun özelliklerini istediğim
and/or its capabilities when I wanted to do so. her an kullanamadığımda rahatsız olurum.
5. Running out of battery in my smartphone would scare Akıllı telefonumun şarjının bitmesinden korkarım.
me.
6. If I were to run out of credits or hit my monthly data Kontörüm (TL kredim) bittiğinde veya aylık kota sınırımı
limit, I would panic. aştığımda paniğe kapılırım.
(continued)
Yildirim et al: A growing fear: Prevalence of nomophobia among Turkish college students 1329

Appendix A (continued)
Original English Items
(Yildirim and Correia, 2015) Turkish Items

7. If I did not have a data signal or could not connect to Telefonum çekmediğinde veya kablosuz Internet
Wi-Fi, then I would constantly check to see if I had a bağlantısına erişemediğimde sürekli olarak sinyal olup
signal or could find a Wi-Fi network. olmadığını veya kablosuz erişim bağlantısı bulup
bulamayacağımı kontrol ederim.
8. If I could not use my smartphone, I would be afraid of Akıllı telefonumu kullanamadığımda, bir yerlerde
getting stranded somewhere mahsur kalacağımdan korkarım.
9. If I could not check my smartphone for a while, I would Akıllı telefonuma bir süre bakamadıysam, bakmak için
feel a desire to check it. güçlü bir istek hissederim.
If I didn’t have my smartphone with me, Eğer akıllı telefonum yanımda değilse,
10. I would feel anxious because I could not instantly Ailemle ve/veya arkadaşlarımla hemen iletişim
communicate with my family and/or friends. kuramayacağım için kaygı duyarım.
11. I would be worried because my family and/or friends Ailem ve/veya arkadaşlarım bana ulaşamayacakları için
could not reach me endişelenirim.
12. I would feel nervous because I would not be able to Gelen aramaları ve mesajları alamayacağım için kendimi
receive text messages and calls. huzursuz hissederim.
13. I would be anxious because I could not keep in touch Ailemle ve/veya arkadaşlarımla iletişim halinde
with my family and/or friends olamadığım için endişelenirim.
14. I would be nervous because I could not know if Birinin bana ulaşmaya çalışıp çalışmadığını bilemediğim
someone had tried to get a hold of me. için gerilirim.
15. I would feel anxious because my constant connection to Ailem ve arkadaşlarımla olan bağlantım kesileceği için
my family and friends would be broken. kendimi huzursuz hissederim.

16. I would be nervous because I would be disconnected Çevrimiçi kimliğinden kopacağım için gergin olurum.
from my online identity.
17. I would be uncomfortable because I could not stay up- Sosyal medya ve diğer çevrimiçi ağlarda güncel
to-date with social media and online networks. kalamadığım için rahatsızlık duyarım.
18. I would feel awkward because I could not check my Bağlantılarımdan ve çevrimiçi ağlardan gelen güncelleme
notifications for updates from my connections and bildirimlerini takip edemediğim için kendimi tuhaf
online networks. hissederim.
19. I would feel anxious because I could not check my email Elektronik postalarımı kontrol edemediğim için kendimi
messages. huzursuz hissederim.
20. I would feel weird because I would not know what to Ne yapacağımı bilemiyor olacağımdan kendimi tuhaf
do. hissederim.

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Yildirim et al: A growing fear: Prevalence of nomophobia among Turkish college students 1331

Middle East Technical University in 2005. Her research East Technical University, Turkey. He graduated with the
interests include technology training and integration, PhD degree from Instructional Technology at the University
technology adoption, educational use of social software, of Southern California in 1997. His research interest includes
e-learning, and digital divide. Contact: Department of Infor- teachers’ technology training and integration, electronic per-
matics, Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University, Mugla, Turkey. Email: formance support systems, learning objects, and the use of
[email protected] digital story telling in preschool education. Contact: Depart-
ment of Computer Education & Instructional Technology,
Soner Yildirim is currently a Professor in the Department of Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey. Email:
Computer Education and Instructional Technology at Middle [email protected]