Nomophobia or fear of being left without a mobile phone

Civilization has brought into our life a lot of necessary things that greatly facilitated our existence. True, everything has “two sides of the moon”. Including the benefits of civilization. And if earlier we were afraid of the dark and spiders, then modern fears make us think about the benefits and dangers of these new technologies. One of the modern phobias is nomophobia.

Why is the fear of being left without a mobile phone dangerous for an individual? We deal with psychologists COLADY.

The content of the article:

Why phone addiction occurs

Is life of a modern person possible without a mobile phone? Oddly enough, some people get along quite calmly without them. But for the majority, the real disaster is to forget the cell phone at home, running out to work in the morning. A day that passed without a phone is considered wasted, and how many nerves were spent, how many necessary calls were missed, how many gossip from friends passed by – and you can’t count it.

No less panic is caused by the suddenly dead phone battery. Remaining disconnected – what could be worse? The phone is always at hand – in your pocket on the road, while sleeping under the pillow, in the kitchen during lunch, and even in the bathroom and toilet. And being outside the “coverage area” is a disaster that threatens to have a nervous breakdown.

According to statistics, in developed countries every seventh person is sick with nomophobia.

Causes of nomophobia

• Fear of helplessness and isolation from the outside world. As soon as telephone booths are a thing of the past, telephones have become not just our constant companions – they completely subdued us to themselves. And if earlier the lack of connection with the world was a completely natural phenomenon, today it leads to panic – there is no way to call for help, there is no connection with relatives and friends, there is not even a clock and a calendar. What can we say about the Internet in smartphones, e-books, games, etc.
• Advertising. Adults are still able to resist the flow of unnecessary information, but the unformed psyche of children does not allow them to screen out the unnecessary and necessary. Moreover, the more unobtrusive advertising (films, cartoons, sports and show business stars, etc.), the stronger the idea that life without a phone is impossible, that “skin and bones” is the standard of beauty, that smoking is cool, and a bottle of whiskey should always be in the home bar. As for dads and moms, they are influenced by numerous promotions, fabulous discounts, “versatility”, fashion, etc.
• Fear of loneliness. Self-sufficiency, as a phenomenon, gradually fades into oblivion. And the modern young generation mistakenly takes for self-sufficiency the ability to be alone for a long time, surrounded by mobile phones, tablets and laptops. How many will be able to withstand at least a day without modern means of communication? According to the conducted experiments, no more than 10 percent of people survive this “hell”. Why? It would seem that it is difficult to spend a day in a real normal life, leaving all the means of communication at home? But no. There is no one to send SMS, no one calls, no one sends letters to “soap” and does not knock on Skype. And there comes a feeling of uselessness, followed by emptiness and panic fear of loneliness. As if you were thrown onto a desert island, your scream is carried by the wind, and the only one who hears you is you.
• The illusion of sociality and impunity. In real life, a person practically has no friends, communicates with someone extremely rarely, is reserved, laconic, perhaps has a suitcase of complexes. The phone is one of the ways to feel in demand, ignoring any barriers inherent in real life. Forums, social networks, etc. On the Internet, you can be anyone, you can spit on the rules of decency, do not hold back your emotions, do not feel guilty. With the help of SMS alone, they start novels, break off relationships, overstep those boundaries that in reality would not have had the courage to cross.

Phone Addiction Symptoms – Check If You Have Nomophobia

How much you are addicted to your phone, you may not even suspect. You can talk about nomophobia if …

• You are agitated and nervouswhen you can’t find your cell phone.
• Feel anger, panic, and impending tantrum, rapid heart rate, and dizziness if you lose your phone.
• Feeling of discomfort, shaking hands and the loss of control over yourself does not leave you until the moment when the phone is found.
• The feeling of anxiety does not leaveeven if you spend 10 minutes without a phone.
• Away (at an important meeting, at a lesson, etc.) you constantly look at the phone, check your e-mail and the weather, note whether the antenna picks up, despite the fact that no one should call and write to you now.
• Your hand does not rise, to turn off the phone, even in environments that call for it.
• You take your phone with you on vacation, to the beach, to the garden, to the car (driving), to the store, to which it is 2 minutes to walk, to the bathroom, to the toilet and at night under the pillow.
• If an SMS or call comes in at the moment when you cross the road, you pull out the phone, despite the danger.
• Are you afraid your phone will run out of battery, and even carry a charger with you for this case.
• You are constantly checking to see if a new SMS has arrived, letter and whether there were any missed calls.
• Are you afraid that you will suddenly run out of money in your account… Which you always put on the account “with a margin”.
• You constantly follow all the news in the world of mobile technologies, you update the phone itself, follow the beauty of the case, purchase various accessories (cases, keychains, strings, etc.).
• You download pictures regularly, games and programs, change melodies and settings.

Treatment of nomophobia or how to beat gadget addiction

Nomophobia has long been recognized by all experts in the world as an addiction similar to alcoholism, drug addiction and gambling addiction. She is even included in the list of rehabilitation programs in many addiction centers.

Of course, phone addiction will not drain your liver and kill your lungs, but its toxic effect extends to a person’s consciousness and their relationship with the real world. Not to mention the effects of electromagnetic radiation from any mobile phone:

• Changes at the cellular level up to the appearance of tumors.
• Memory loss.
• Headaches, irritability.
• Decreased immunity.
• Adverse effect on the work of the endocrine and cardiovascular systems.
• Decreased vision.
• Disruption of the natural alternation of sleep phases.
• Pressure drops.

It is also worth noting that talking on a cell phone during a thunderstorm is extremely life-threatening. The telephone is the perfect conduit for the discharge of electricity. It is advisable to turn it off altogether during a thunderstorm outside.

The phone is life-threatening even if you talk on it while driving a car.

When should you suspect you have nomophobia and pay a visit to the doctor?

Psychological dependence on the phone is considered fatal and requires treatment if you have all (or partially) symptoms of nomophobia, to which you can add one more (already very serious) sign of addiction – audible hallucinations… They represent the illusion of a ringing or SMS sound, when the phone does not actually ring or is completely turned off.

Nomophobia is not a harmless habit, as many mistakenly believe. She can become very serious mental illness, which will have to be treated with medicinal methods.

How to get rid of nomophobia?

1. Ask yourself a question – do you really need your phone that even 20 minutes you cannot live without it? Most likely, the earth will not open up, and the apocalypse will not come if leave your phone at home periodically…
2. Start small – stop carrying your phone around the apartment… You will be surprised, but if you run to the store without a mobile phone, then when you come home you will not find a hundred missed calls in it.
3. It is strictly forbidden to sleep with your phone under your pillow. First, the brain must rest before bed. Secondly, the radiation that you catch from under your pillow during the night does not compare with your anxiety – “what if someone calls.” Take care of your health.
4. Only use the phone in an emergency. For example, if you need to call for help, report an important meeting, etc. Talk briefly and quickly – only to the point. If the desire to chat with your interlocutor for an hour or two is simply unbearable – call from a landline phone.
5. Turn off your phone every day during your rest.… Came home from work – turned it off. You have time for relaxation, dinner with your family, watching a new comedy, football, finally. “And let the whole world wait!”.
6. While on vacation only switch on your phone in exceptional cases.
7. More often get out to places where there is no “coverage area”… Into the forest, mountains, lakes, etc.
8. Do not use your phone to access the Internet – for communication only.
9. Don’t buy phones for young children… Do not deprive your kids of childhood and the joy of communication with the world around them. Teach your children to be in real life and real communication. Reading books, not blogs on the net. Real-world problem solving, not emoticon shooting.

Even if you haven’t found any symptoms of nomophobia, pay attention to the abundance of gadgets in your life and draw conclusions. Learn to listen and hear without them. And be healthy!

Do you have a phone addiction? Let us know in the comments!