Smartphone Addiction, Nomophobia, Depression, and Social Appearance Anxiety Among College Students: A Correlational Study

Abstract

Smartphones have become an integral part of people's life, especially among adolescents. But problematic smartphone uses lead to several psychological and physical problems. This study explored the relationships of smartphone addiction, nomophobia, depression, and social appearance anxiety among college students. A total of 473 college students voluntarily participated in this study, including 286 male and 187 female. Data were collected to employ four instruments: nomophobia scale, smartphone addiction scale, social appearance anxiety scale and beck depression scale. This correlational study with the structural equation model revealed that nomophobia had a significant direct effect on smartphone addiction, social appearance anxiety had a significant direct effect on smartphone addiction and nomophobia, and depression had a significant direct effect on social appearance anxiety. This empirical study provides a solid foundation to build a deeper understanding of adolescents' wellbeing, as related to mobile technologies. It is also vital to guide systematic efforts on the individual, institutional or national level to assist college students to maintain overall health and wellbeing, while advancing digital learning in higher education.