14 DAY TRIAL // You might not have heard of it just yet, but there is a new disorder circling us: it’s called nomophobia and it’s what happens when we get anxious over being without our beloved smartphones.
A shorter definition is the fear of being without mobile phone contact. No more texting, no more calling people whenever we want to, no more checking our social media accounts on the go, and no more googling random stuff just to make the time pass.
Researchers warn it can get pretty bad
Nomophobia is short for no-mobile-phone phobia. As noted, the term describes the fear / anxiety some people experience whenever their phone is out of reach or maybe so low on battery that they can no longer use it.
“The fear of being without ones mobile device, or of being unable to communicate using one's mobile device,” is the official definition of nomophobia.
Studies have shown the younger generation is more vulnerable to this modern disorder.
A 2012 online survey sponsored by Internet security firm SecurEnvoy and involving 1,000 volunteers in the UK documented 77% nomophobics in the age group 18 to 24 and 66% nomophobics in the age group 25 to 34.
The symptoms of extreme nomophobia include restlessness, anxiety, sometimes even shortness of breath and full-blown panic attacks. To some specialists, the disorder is an indicator of a deeper disturbance: phone addiction.
In turn, phone addiction can be seen as an indicator of loneliness, insecurity and isolation.
So, researchers theorize that the emergence of nomophonia, together with the surprisingly high number of people who seem to be affected by this disorder, could be proof that our mobile phones are taking over our lives.
What worries them is that, the more attached we are to our phones, the less effort we put into our interpersonal relations. Plainly put, it might be that our phones are keeping us from properly communicating.
When you check your phone 150 times a day, as some nomophobes do, and its screen is the first thing you look at in the morning and the last thing you see before you close your eyes to sleep, you might have a problem.
Then again, being a bit nomophobic is perfectly understandable
Let’s face it, we all get just a tad anxious when we can’t remember where we’ve left our phone or when we’re low on battery. So, in a way, we’re all nomophobics. Some to a greater degree than others, but we are all accustomed to this fear specialists speak of.
Still, perhaps this fear does not an indicator of a disorder make. Admittedly, experiencing shortness of breath, severe anxiety and panic attacks when without one’s phone is not OK. Not by a long shot.
However, the fact of the matter is feeling a bit on the edge when left without our favorite gadgets is perfectly understandable, even normal. Not at all a phobia.
We need our phones to navigate modern society. We need them to communicate and to access information. They are tools without which we would undoubtedly have trouble sticking to our daily routines.
Therefore, it makes sense to worry about being left without them. This is no more a phobia or a disorder than fearing running out of hot water, another of the commodities of modern life.
We, humans, are creatures of comfort and our phones do just that: make our life easier. Hence, there is nothing wrong with dreading having to make do without them.
So, unless serious enough to interfere with one’s psychological and mental wellbeing, there is nothing wrong with a little nomophobia.