Examination of Studies on Fear of Being Away from Cell Phone “Nomophobia”: A Bibliometric Analysis

Cyprus Turkish Journal of Psychiatry & Psychology Vol.8 Issue.2

Doi:10.35365/ctjpp.26.2.12

  REVIEW ARTICLE / DERLEME YAZISI 

Examination of Studies on Fear of Being Away from Cell Phone “Nomophobia”: A Bibliometric Analysis

Cep Telefonunda Uzak Kalma Korkusu “Nomofobi” ile İlgili Çalışmaların İncelenmesi: Bibliyometrik Bir Analiz

Emre Vadi Balcı¹ , Bünyamin Uzun² 

Abstract:

This study aims to examine the dissemination and thematic orientations of academic research on the concept of nomophobia—a form of dependence and fear associated with technological devices, particularly mobile phones. Accordingly, the primary objective of this study is to identify the developmental trajectory and research foci of scientific publications concerning nomophobia over the years. The study employs a quantitative bibliometric analysis, using data from the Web of Science (WoS) database. All studies indexed with the keyword “nomophobia” were examined, and a total of 472 academic publications were analyzed using bibliometric data. The findings reveal a remarkable increase in research on nomophobia, particularly in the last eight years (n = 456). At the country level, the highest number of publications was produced by researchers from Turkey, while Nottingham Trent University was identified as the most prolific institution in this field. Keyword analyses indicate that the concepts of “excessive smartphone use” and “behavioral addiction” have appeared only infrequently within nomophobia-related studies. The discussion highlights that research on nomophobia has predominantly focused on psychology, psychiatry, and education, while studies in the communication discipline—despite its high relevance to the topic—remain limited. In conclusion, this study reveals the developmental trends of the literature on nomophobia and provides a guiding framework for researchers to monitor existing trajectories and identify new research avenues. Future studies are recommended to examine, in greater depth, the psychosocial impacts of nomophobia across different cultural contexts and its connections to digital health policies.

Keywords: Nomophobia, Phone addiction, Smartphone, Phobia.

¹Usak University, Faculty of Communication, Department of New Media and Communication, Uşak, Türkiye.

²Yozgat Bozok University, Faculty of Communication, Department of New Media and Communication, Yozgat, Türkiye.

Address of Correspondence/Yazışma Adresi: Bünyamin Uzun, Yozgat Bozok University, Faculty of Communication, Erdoğan Akdağ Campus, 66000 Merkez, Yozgat, Türkiye, E-mail: [email protected].

Date of Received/Geliş Tarihi: 04.09.2024, Date of Revision/Düzeltme Tarihi: 11.01.2026, Date of Acceptance/Kabul Tarihi: 25.04.2026, Date of Online Publication/Çevirimiçi Yayın Tarihi: 15.06.2026

Citing/Referans Gösterimi: Balcı, E. V. & Uzun, B. (2026). Examination of studies on fear of being away from cell phone “Nomophobia”: A bibliometric analysis. Cyprus Turkish Journal of Psychiatry & Psychology, 8(2), 208-216, Doi: 10.35365/ctjpp.26.2.12.

© 2026 The Author(s). Published by Cyprus Mental Health Institute / Cyprus Turkish Journal of Psychiatry and Psychology (www.ktppdergisi.com). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/