Carlos Solis
According to statistics, in developed countries, nomophobia affects one in seven people. Although it hasn’t been assigned a code in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD), doctors call it a 21st-century pathology and are exploring ways to combat growing dependence on digital devices and the internet across age groups.
The Newest Phobias
Nomophobia is the fear of being without a phone or another gadget. The medical community has only recently recognized it as a mental disorder, a development that coincided with the rise of digital technology. This young phobia has a “peer” — phone addiction. Strictly speaking, they are not the same, although nomophobia is closely related to gadget addiction, in which a person devotes excessive time to a smartphone, tablet, laptop, or computer at the expense of more important matters.
If you find yourself more engrossed in social media or games than interacting with people in real life, or if you can’t resist checking messages in chat apps repeatedly, you might be experiencing nomophobia. Phone and gadget addiction often shows up as acute panic when you have to part with your device. Nomophobia can also present other symptoms, such as distraction, irritability, or aggression. At the same time, the obsessive fear of being without a gadget does not always accompany addiction.
Signs of Addiction
American researchers have found through surveys that 66% of people are prone to this fear, with more women than men among those affected by nomophobia. You can identify it by specific signs.
Symptoms of Nomophobia:
- panic, dizziness, rapid heartbeat, agitation, anger, or hysteria when you cannot find your mobile phone;
- fear, discomfort, and trembling in your hands that persist until the phone is found;
- you don’t turn off your phone even in inappropriate settings, constantly checking the screen for calls, messages, and social media updates;
- you always have your phone with you — using it while driving, in bed, in the bathroom, or even in the toilet;
- you carry a charger everywhere out of fear of running out of battery;
- you worry about unexpected loss of connectivity and keep extra credit or backup options to avoid it;
- you regularly download new apps or content, change settings, keep up with advancements in mobile technology, update apps to the latest versions, diversify accessories, and constantly look for a new phone to buy.
It’s worth paying attention to the number of gadgets in your life and, at least as an experiment, trying to do without them when possible.
Causes of Fear
Psychologists have identified factors that can contribute to the development of nomophobia at various ages, particularly in adults.
Negative Experiences
Sometimes the phobia develops after a negative event: if being without a phone once caused problems or distress, a person may worry about avoiding a similar situation in the future. The fear of the consequences of suddenly losing access to necessary information is common among responsible individuals.
Fear of Inaccessibility
People have become accustomed to relying on their mobile phones for immediate contact. Primarily, the phone is essential for receiving urgent messages and holding necessary conversations. Keeping the phone close at hand has been a habit since the advent of the first mobile device, and it can be hard to shake.
Fear of Isolation
When the phone is the only way to connect with loved ones, being without it can trigger feelings of loneliness. To avoid that sensation, a person may feel compelled to keep the phone on them at all times.
Influence of the Environment
The likelihood of developing nomophobia increases when someone close to you suffers from this type of fear or from other forms of anxiety. Phone addiction can have a toxic effect that influences a person’s awareness and their relationships with the real world.
Phone Addiction in Teenagers and Children
In youth, this problem often appears in ways similar to adults.
Signs of Nomophobia in Teenagers:
- unwillingness to part with the gadget, even for a short time;
- nervousness when the device is not at hand;
- sadness, feelings of loss, and confusion due to the gadget’s inaccessibility;
- ignoring life and the world outside the gadget — perceiving only the information that comes from the screen;
- loss of connection with the environment, superficial communication, and constant immersion in the gadget;
- turning the gadget into a distraction while trying to focus on tasks.
Psychologists have observed that the increase in dependence on technology and the internet is particularly pronounced among the younger generation, who have grown up with a smartphone in hand. In children, phone addiction often shows up as hysterical behavior when they are prohibited from using the device. This type of dependence can negatively impact emotional and cognitive development.
Emotional Health
Phone addiction in teenagers leads to a decrease in personal time and an increase in virtual interactions and rewards (both in games and on social media through likes and shares). Social media can encourage perfectionism and dependence on external validation, undermining children’s and teenagers’ self-esteem and confidence. Research shows that children with phone addiction are twice as likely to experience depression as their peers. Additionally, children addicted to gadgets often exhibit lack of attention, deteriorating social contacts, and an inability to perform tasks without their mobile phone at hand. This is particularly dangerous during adolescence.
Physical Health
The primary risk associated with excessive gadget use is related to vision. Ophthalmologists are raising alarms: the incidence of myopia has increased severalfold in recent decades. The negative impact of screens on the eyes is due in part to a decreased blink rate, which can lead to dry eye syndrome. Other adverse effects of excessive gadget use include hearing loss from loud sounds in headphones, chronic sleep deprivation, and poor posture from the hunched position while using a phone (the so-called “text neck”) or from prolonged computer use, leading to rapid fatigue and pain in the back, neck, and shoulders.
Types of Gadget Fear
Experts note that unpleasant feelings when mobile phones and other familiar gadgets are inaccessible are common, but that does not necessarily indicate nomophobia. A phobia is characterized by an irrational reaction to an event or phenomenon, with specific symptoms: increased heart rate, sweating, confusion, trembling in the limbs, and so on. Fortunately, not everyone experiences such reactions to the absence of a mobile phone.
Fear of gadgets can manifest not only as nomophobia (the fear of being without a phone) but also as FOMO — the fear of missing out, which causes a person to constantly check online and get lost in it. There is also telephobia (the fear of making phone calls) and technophobia (an irrational fear of digital technologies in general — smartphones, computers, artificial intelligence). In all cases, painful manifestations can include anxiety, dry mouth, and panic attacks.
Among the causes of these fears are gadget addiction, an unsatisfactory social life, and fear of direct communication. People increasingly avoid traditional calls, preferring text messages to dodge the discomfort of interrupting a conversation and responding immediately. The consequences of gadget-related phobias include deteriorating mental health (ranging from anxiety and depression to social isolation), decreased productivity, and slowed career growth due to fear of communication.
How to Overcome Phone Addiction
Gadget addiction is now recognized as a dangerous condition, akin to gambling addiction, with the potential to develop into a mental illness, and it has already been included in rehabilitation programs for addiction at medical centers.
See a doctor if:
- you feel the fear of “missing out” (FOMO);
- you have trouble completing work tasks;
- you neglect household chores due to being in online chats, messaging, or gaming;
- you often work late because you can’t finish your tasks on time due to distractions;
- you notice isolation from family and friends;
- you experience “phantom vibrations,” where you feel like your phone has received calls, messages, or updates, but there are none.
In such cases, doctors recommend cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) or exposure therapy, which can help alleviate the symptoms of nomophobia. CBT teaches people to manage negative thoughts and feelings focused on the absence of their gadget. Exposure therapy helps people confront their fears through gradual exposure, encouraging them to get used to living without their phone.
Start by not taking your phone to bed or the bathroom. Then refrain from pulling it out of your bag or pocket to check messages while on the go. Avoid gadget distractions when talking to real people, and try turning your phone off or leaving it off during weekends. The therapy aims to help you find new interests in the real world that can replace the fascination with smartphones or computers. After all, research has shown that giving up a smartphone for two weeks can rejuvenate the brain by ten years. Limiting gadget use is about regaining control over your life.
Photo: Unsplash
