Abstract

In today’s digitally connected world, smartphones have become an inseparable part of daily life, especially for students in higher education. While these devices offer convenience and connectivity, their overuse has a great concern known as nomophobia, the fear of being without a mobile phone. This study aims to compare the levels of nomophobia among college and university students, exploring how differences in academic environments and student lifestyles may influence mobile phone dependency. A quantitative, descriptive and cross-sectional research design was employed and a standardized nomophobia questionnaire was administered to collect data. A sample of 100 students (50 each from College and University) was evaluated using a standardized nomophobia scale. The mean scores for college and university students were 86.3 and 85.34, respectively, with standard deviations of 23.9 and 19.14. The standard error of difference was 4.33, with 98 degrees of freedom. An independent samples t-test was conducted and the resulting t-value of 0.22 indicated that there is no statistically significant difference in nomophobia levels between college and university students. These findings suggest that nomophobia is similarly prevalent among both groups, understanding the need for shared preventive measures and awareness initiatives across educational institutions.