Usage patterns of electronic devices for communication and prevalence of nomophobia among General Certificate of Education Advanced Level students in Colombo, Sri Lanka

Introduction: Nomophobia is becoming an increasing concern as a result of inappropriate use of electronic communication devices.
Objectives: To describe the pattern of use of electronic communication devices and the prevalence of nomophobia among General Certificate of Education (GCE) Advanced Level (A/L) students in Colombo Educational Zone.
Method: This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out from January to March 2020 in six of the randomly selected government and government approved private schools within the Colombo Education Zone. A self-administered questionnaire including a culturally adapted nomophobia-questionnaire was used. Data were analysed using SPSS-20.
Results: Of 337 students, 336 (99.7%) were regularly using a device for communication, the most preferred (n=319) being mobile phone; 213 owned a mobile phone; 60.4% were spending ≥2 hours/day with these devices, 10.1% spending >5 hours/day. Common uses of devices were listening to music (96.7%), taking photos (85.4%), sending text messages (84.8%) and academic activities (84.5%). Prevalence of moderate and severe nomophobia was 49.8% and 34.2% respectively. Prevalence of severe nomophobia was significantly higher in females (p<0.001) and those studying in grade 13 (p=0.036), government schools (p=0.002), Sinhala-medium (p=0.017) and Science stream (p=0.024).
Conclusions:  Among GCE A/L students in Colombo, Sri Lanka, 99.7% were regularly using a device for communication. Prevalence of moderate and severe nomophobia was 49.8% and 34.2% respectively.