Abstract
Now a days, Most of the people are dependent on cell phones as they became a major part of our culture & a key of communication. Indian market has emerged as the second-largest market after China for mobile phone handsets. People tends to be anxious while being out of mobile phone contact i.e., being out of network area/has run out of battery or balance/even worse when lose their mobiles which adversely affects the concentration level of persons. Our study was undertaken to find out the prevalence of nomophobia in the Indian scenario considering the tremendous increase in the number of mobile phone users in the past days. The present study was a Descriptive cross-sectional study conducted amongst 377 M.B.B.S. students from Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences, Kadapa. Sample size was calculated on the basis of pilot study. Initially, students from dissimilar batches using mobile phone for more than one-year duration for at least 1-2 h per day. Except 1st year student all other students met the above inclusion criteria as they started using mobiles since then. A questionnaire designed on the lines of one developed by Dr. Marcus L. Raine was used to study mobile phone dependence among the study subjects. Out of the entire study group, the students having Nomophobic score >35 was 22.3% of which 65.47% were Males, 34.52% were females. Prevalence of Nomophobia was 14% among 2nd yr students, 23% among 3rd yr students, 23.36% among 4th yr students, 34.4% among Interns.(p<0.05).Students at risk of nomophobia (score-30-34) were observed to be 31.3% of which 51.2% were 2nd yr students. In reality these results give an alarming indication that as days goes by the youth is getting more and more dependent on mobile phones, which may lead to some psychiatric and psychological problems among the users.