Smartphone withdrawal creates stress: A moderated mediation model of nomophobia, social threat, and phone withdrawal context

A growing body of literature demonstrates that smartphone use can become problematic when individuals develop a technology dependency such that fear can result. This fear is often referred to as Nomophobia, denoting the fear of not being able to use one's phone. While the literature (especially on technostress and problematic smartphone use) has shed ample light on the question of which factors contribute to the development of Nomophobia, it remains less clear how, why, and under what conditions Nomophobia, in turn, results in negative consequences, especially stress. Drawing on the demand-control-person model, this study develops a novel research model indicating that Nomophobia impacts stress through the perception of a social threat and that this indirect effect depends on the context of a phone withdrawal situation. Data collected from 270 smartphone users and analyzed using multi-group path analysis supported our model. The results showed that the proposed indirect effect is non-significant only when situational certainty and controllability come together, that is, when people know for how long they will not be able to use their phones and when they have control over the situation. Managers can help their nomophobic employees by instilling in them trust and perceptions of social presence while also giving them more control over their smartphone use during meetings. •Focus on Nomophobia, an important phenomenon that we need to better understand.•Explicating how and why Nomophobia influences stress (mediation).•Explaining under what conditions Nomophobia leads to stress (moderation).•Taking a theory-driven approach to study Nomophobia (demand-control-person model).