Do you have the Nomophobia Syndrome?

 Nomophobia- short for NO MObile PHone PhOBIA, is a psychological disorder characterized as separation anxiety from a particular thing, in this case, a mobile phone.

Most of us are, in some way or the other, dependent on our mobile phones for connectivity, information, news, and other daily updates. Almost as if the absence of phones could have a rather detrimental effect on our lives.

While this is not true, Nomophobia can make one believe otherwise. It is for certain that we, at some point in our lives, have felt uneasy, anxious, and fearful if our mobile phones are not an arm’s length away from us or worse, are unable to be found.

Some researchers categorize Nomophobia as more of an addiction than a separation anxiety disorder. The symptoms of this disorder are as follows:

• Heavy Breathing
• Anxiety
• Panic
• Sweating
• Irritability
• Trembling
• Disorientation
• In some instances, Tachycardia
   

Who is most at risk?

Researchers conclude that Generation Z, is most susceptible to this syndrome. Young adults or teenagers have been shown to experience more prominent symptoms.

Certain researches prove that 53 per cent of British citizens who owned a phone in 2008 felt anxious when they were separated from it, or the lack of charging caused the phone to turn off, or had no service.

A 2017 study shows that out of 145 first-year medical students in India, 17.9 per cent had mild Nomophobia. 60 percent of the participants, experienced moderate symptoms, and for 22.1 percent of participants, symptoms were severe.

Why does it happen?

It is difficult to define a pinpoint cause for Nomophobia Syndrome. This is because Nomophobia is considered a form of separation anxiety.

Mostly found in teenagers or younger adults, Nomophobia Syndrome can be caused by several contributing factors.

The psychology behind Nomophobia Syndrome is that if a teenager or young adult uses their phone solely for the purpose of contacting others, chances are they will experience Nomophobia at some point. Moreover, if their main form of communication with their social circle is their phone, then the absence of a phone can create a fear of loneliness.

Furthermore, the fear of not being reachable over a mobile phone might settle in, if phone usage has become an unhealthy habit.

Apart from this, researchers claim that certain phobias can be linked to an event or circumstance in life. One that has caused anxiety, distress, or fear in the past. If one correlates their separation from the mobile phone to that particular incident, it is likely this recurrent behavior can settle into Nomophobia.

A deeper understanding of one’s psychological behavior is thus, imperative.

What to do?

The comprehension of Nomophobia is necessary to speculate the cause and, therefore, eliminate it.

Nomophobia is a psychological disorder. Therefore to eliminate the problem, it is of utmost importance to understand it at first. More often than not, Nomophobia can be due to obsessive and compulsive characteristics in a person related to their phone.

Nomophobia can be eradicated from society, and from individuals, by understanding that a mobile phone is just that, a mobile phone. Attaching too much dependency, feeling or addiction to mobile phones will ultimately cause this disorder.

A social media or mobile phone detox from time to time is thus, necessary for the elimination of this syndrome.

It is also imperative that Nomophobia Syndrome receives its due recognition in society. As generations and modern technologies improve and become more complicated, medical issues and psychological disorders in the coming generations also show complicative advances.

Nomophobia Syndrome is a medical condition for the new ages. As researches begin to recognize the syndrome as a psychological disorder, more and more psychologists and mental health therapists should work on cognitive behavioral therapy or exposure therapy programs in order to handle new cases of Nomophobia. Medical intervention might be also necessary in order to counter this psychological condition.