UFV Project Proposal: Combating Nomophobia Through Awareness & Trip

This report details a project proposal for the University of Fraser Valley (UFV) aimed at addressing the growing issue of nomophobia (the fear of being without a mobile phone) among its students. The proposal outlines an awareness campaign to be held on campus, followed by a nature immersion trip to the Great Blue Heron Nature Reserve in Chilliwack. The project seeks to educate students about the negative impacts of excessive mobile phone use on their mental and physical health, academic performance, and social lives. The report includes background information on nomophobia, survey data highlighting its prevalence among UFV students, a proposed schedule for the campaign and trip, financial projections, and the qualifications of the team members involved. The ultimate goal is to reduce mobile addiction, promote healthier lifestyles, and improve the overall well-being of UFV students. The document is available on Desklib, a platform offering study tools and resources for students.

Running Head: COMMUNICATION
Topic- Informal proposal
Student name
University name
Author notes

2INFORMAL PROPOSAL
To,
The UVF President
Dr. Joanne MacLean
Respected Sir/Madam,
I am writing this report proposal to drawn your attention towards the increased effects of
Nomophobia, one of the potential issues among UVF students. Me and my team want to conduct
a UVF awareness campaign about the probable risks of it and is also planning a nature
immersion trip to Great Blue Heron Nature Reserve Camping at Sumas Prairie Road, Chilliwack.
The starting point of the trip will be University of Fraser Valley- Abbotsford campus itself. The
main motive of writing this letter to you is to have official authorization and required funding for
completion of the project successfully. The various aspects of the project proposal including
financial plans, logistics, services and amenities etc. are projected in the next section.
We will remain highly obliged if you consider the project and give us authorization to do the
same and support with additional finance requirement if needed.
Thanking you
Name
Date
Signature

3INFORMAL PROPOSAL
Introduction
The transformation to ‘e’ world has not been a boon for students as students are at higher
risk of continuously using the internet and are deviated from their main study curriculum course
works. Increased use of virtual communication through PCs, laptops, smart phones, tablets and
other such devices are changes in the lifestyles of the individuals and behavioral changes are at
risks (Bragazzi & Del Puente, 2014). According to Canadian Mental Health Association (2019)
Nomophobia is the condition of having no-mobile phone where the individual is at phobia state
of fear and staying away from the phone for longer durations. A brief introduction of
nomophobia will clear things up on how it is affecting he young generation specially the college
and university students and is dooming their career and future success prospects. A survey
analysis was also conducted on the various university students and UVF students topped the list
on the effect of nomophobia. The survey was a part of the public awareness campaign and the
results received highlight the most required awareness among the students here so that UVF
students can cope up with nomophobia with increased courage. A university-based awareness
campaign will be conducted and as apart of this good public awareness campaign a nature
immersion trip is also arranged and eager students can be a part of the trip to be held next month.
The main purpose of the project is to increase awareness of the ill-effects of nomophobia
like mental health problem and make students aware about the hazards of prolonged exposure to
phones both for physical health and mental health support particularly in education and career
developmental aspects (Durak, 2018).
The awareness program will be a one-day program held in the university campaign itself
and the nature trip will follow the next week after the awareness campaign. The team will help
carry out the campaign effectively with their previous experience and expertise in handling such

4INFORMAL PROPOSAL
social awareness campaigns. Though voluntary student participation is focused and
recommended as well. After the campaign required intervention for mental health support can be
formulated based on the results. The campaign will address both problem of nomophobia and
will provide developmental opportunities to the UVF students.
The campaign will be a direct aid to the students and the end results will help the
university administrators to know the actual position of their students and help them recover
from the nomophobia disorder which will improve their academic performances afterwards and
the good reputation of the university will remain as it was before. The project proposal includes
information about the background of the project, reasons for conducting the off-site trip, benefits
to the UVF students, schedule of the project, member partners with their qualifications to find
the actual worth of the team and last but not the least some financial projections for the campaign
to have a clear idea of the financial compatibility of the campaign.
Background
UVF is one of the renowned universities having global accreditation. The university is
well known both for academic results and sincere students’ background. But in recent times the
university is struggling to cope up with extensive gadget application by the students. Increased
gadget engrossment has increased level of stress in students by increasing their mental fatigue.
Students become exhausted to concentrate on class and as a result their academic results suffer
greatly (Han, Kim & Kim, 2017). Social media stress and increased work pressure has increased
depression among students and a break from technologies and gadgets can improve both mental
peace and social lives in individuals (JB, Mathew & Philip, 2013). So, the tech free vacation of
the nature immersion trip to Great Blue Heron Nature Reserve Camping will be of great
importance to the students. Nomophobia is increasing at an alarming rate in this 21st century and

5INFORMAL PROPOSAL
it is used as a term synonymous to the fear of being without a cell phone or beyond the reach of
mobile phone connections for longer durations. It is simply a mental disorder of the present
generation who suffers from mental anxiety and discomfort and depression in many cases as
well. Non-availability of mobile phones, personal computers, laptops, tabs and other virtual
communication devices lead to mental anxiety and it is fatal for the ones who already have
anxiety and depression mental issues from past times (Kuss & Griffiths, 2017). Humans physical
interaction has decreased and virtual connectivity has increased manifold. People feel inferior
and even lacks confidence without their phones. Cognitive development is retarded and the
natural emotional conditions gradually fades away and the person become reluctant to empathy
and communal mixing needs. Loneliness increases and ultimately gives rise to psychological
disorders (Peraman & Parasuraman, 2016). So, the need for this campaign is of increased value
for the UVF students and will be beneficial both for the students and the university in long run
success. A support of the Rogers Innovation report will add weightage to the above facts
mentioned above. According to the survey reports 65% Canadians are nomophobia victims and
most of them are university and college goers. Also, the survey conducted on the UVF university
students show that around 46% of students feel that they do not feel comfortable without their
smart phones. It also reveals that 37% of students use their phones to remain updated to the latest
happenings and search for information. Increased cyber loafing and dependency on the internet
decreases one’s thought process and increases anxiety and negative emotions. Around 29%
students agreed to the fact that they became panic attacked when their phone battery runs out of
power and carries alternate power banks instead and around 10% strongly agreed that they feel
screwed up when their monthly data pack expires. This fear is directly linked to the smartphone
separation anxiety and losing connection from virtual world increase depression vulnerability

6INFORMAL PROPOSAL
and is the main cause of increased social isolation among teenagers (Rosen et al., 2016). The
Survey by Centre for Addiction and Mental Health reveal that 87% of college-goers spend a
handsome percentage of their time in social media and 18% spends at least 5 hours a day by
surfing social media. Students become aloof from their family and friends and the fear of losing
social media identity cause them to remain connected which in literal senses are increasing
loneliness and depression in them. The past data results of the percentage of nomophobia in UVF
university students is shown in the chart below.
NOMOPHOBIA PERCENTAGE IN UVF
not at all nomophobic mild nomophobic moderate nomophobic severe nomophobic
Though exact state of nomophobia is not referred to here because of limited sample size
of only 15 students but still it provides a preview for the increased need of rectifying the issue of
nomophobia in the students here.
Schedule of the project
The project is to be scheduled based on a number of aspects like proposed theme, date of
start, target audience etc. Each factor analysis is mentioned below.

7INFORMAL PROPOSAL
The theme of the project is sociology and psychology. It emphasizes on social awareness
to support psychological development. Main objective is reduction of mobile usage and support
healthy life experiences by engaging in healthy habits and focusing on physical fitness. To
understand the behavioral changes the method of observation of mobile usage in university is
considered.
The in-house campaign in the university will be scheduled on 2nd April 2019 and the
tentative date of the site visit is a week after that is in the second week of April, may be on 7th,
Sunday. The target audience of the campaign will be all students and also professors. And the
target issue is nomophobia.
An advertisement of the campaign will be demonstrated the previous day to increase
level of knowledge and participation through college student’s’ portal and university website and
also on the FB page of the university. University notice board will also be used for promotional
needs. The second half of the day is requested to be provided for the campaign. It will be around
3 hours having a number of activities and games. Communication and interaction will be focused
extensively. After the campaign results target audience for the trip will be chosen from previous
enrollments and the trip will be announced on the very day of the university campaign. A
minimum amount of $20 needs to be deposited for registration fee and the whole day trip food
and amenities will be provided free of costs. The off-campus nature immersion trip will be to the
Great Blue Heron Nature Reserve Camping, Sumas Prairie Road, Chilliwack. The point of start
and the point of dissemination will be same and is University of Fraser valley Abbotsford
campus.

8INFORMAL PROPOSAL
The timeline and plan of the project will be 2 days but not consecutive days.
Project areas Date and Time
duration
Audiences Activities
University campaign
on nomophobia
2nd April 2019
3 hours from 2PM to
5 PM
All university
Students and
professors who are
interested
Games, presentation,
interaction, role play
etc.
Off-campus nature
immersion trip
7th April 2019
Whole day program
From 7.30 AM to
5.30 PM
Selective students
based on university
campaign results.
Excursion, site
seeing, outdoor
games etc.
Mandatory breakfast
and lunch to be
provided.
There will be student volunteers and fitness trainers who will help students in rectifying
their nomophobia effects. A community health nurse will acta s the manger of the events and
will guide various activities.
The on-campus campaign will not require any financial budget but a place like
community hall or open ground for conducting the campaign is to be provided by the university
administration. And the required budget for the off-campus nature immersion trip is projected as

9INFORMAL PROPOSAL
follows. The financials are actually sponsored by various community support funds and also
student union has promised to help in this regard.
Categories included Projected budget
Location entry fee $5 per head
Equipment rentals $50 for a day
Venue tech support $20 for a day
Food and beverages $350
Transportation $100
Specialty staff fees $100
Care takers fees $50
Other amenities and emergencies $350
Team support
We, team of 10 members take part in various social awareness campaign programs like
HIV awareness, Dementia awareness and now we are focusing on nomophobia. The team
comprise of 5 post-graduates in sociology, 2 community staffs from national Healthcare Centre,
1 member having diploma in nursing and other two are psychology part time lecturers at Trinity
University.
Conclusion
Thus, the nomophobia campaign will help increase social awareness among people and
will help in strengthening their psychological differences and other mental disturbance areas.

10INFORMAL PROPOSAL
Mobile usage risk can be interpreted easily and reduced mobile addiction will increase their
academics (Rosen et al., 2016). Many students might not take active participation in the
campaign and banning mobile during class hours as a result may cause student unrest to a great
extent.
Dear Sir/ Madam,
In regard to the campaign outline provided above, I on behalf of my team request you to give
proper authorization to carry out the project so that the campaign against nomophobia becomes a
huge success and students can be saved from the ill-effects of prolonged mobile phone usages.
Active participation from students and professor groups can reduce the limitations considerably.
Eagerly waiting for your positive feedback on the same with voluntary consent so that we can
proceed further.
Thanking you
Regards
Name
Signature
Date

11INFORMAL PROPOSAL
References
Bragazzi, N. L., & Del Puente, G. (2014). A proposal for including nomophobia in the new
DSMV. Psychology research and behavior management, 7, 155.
Canadian Mental Health Association. (2019). Addictions and Problematic Internet Use. Access
date: 25th of March 2019. Retrieved from: https://ontario.cmha.ca/documents/addictions-
andproblematic-internet-use/
Durak, H. Y. (2018). What would you do without your smartphone? Adolescents’ social media
usage, locus of control, and loneliness as a predictor of nomophobia. Addicta-The
Turkish Journal On Addictions, 5(3), 543-557.
Han, S., Kim, K. J., & Kim, J. H. (2017). Understanding nomophobia: structural equation
modeling and semantic network analysis of smartphone separation anxiety.
Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 20(7), 419-427.
JB, B., Mathew, P., THULASI, P. C., & Philip, J. (2013). Nomophobia-do we really need to
worry about?. Reviews of Progress, 1(1).
Kuss, D., & Griffiths, M. (2017). Social networking sites and addiction: Ten lessons learned.
International journal of environmental research and public health, 14(3), 311.
Peraman, R., & Parasuraman, S. (2016). Mobile phone mania: Arising global threat in public
health. Journal of natural science, biology, and medicine, 7(2), 198.
Rosen, L., Carrier, L. M., Miller, A., Rokkum, J., & Ruiz, A. (2016). Sleeping with technology:
cognitive, affective, and technology usage predictors of sleep problems among college
students. Sleep health, 2(1), 49-56.

12INFORMAL PROPOSAL