According to statistics, in developed countries, nomophobia affects one in seven people. Although this issue has yet to receive a code in the International Classification of Diseases, doctors refer to it as a pathology of the 21st century and are exploring ways to combat the growing dependence on digital devices and the internet across various age groups.
The Youngest Phobias
Nomophobia is the fear of being without a or another gadget. The medical community has only recently recognized this mental disorder, coinciding 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, where a person devotes all their time to their 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 your chat apps repeatedly, you might be experiencing nomophobia. Phone and gadget addiction often manifests as acute panic when you need to part with your device. However, 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 by specific signs.
Symptoms of Nomophobia:
- panic, dizziness, rapid heartbeat, agitation, anger, or hysteria when unable to 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, and in the toilet;
- you carry a charger everywhere out of fear of running out of battery;
- you worry about the unexpected loss of connectivity and usually top up your account with a surplus;
- 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 due to a negative experience: 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 typical for responsible individuals.
Fear of Inaccessibility
People have become accustomed to relying on their mobile phones for immediate contact. Primarily, this gadget is essential for important messages and necessary conversations. Keeping the phone close at hand has become a habit since the advent of the first mobile device, and it’s hard to shake off.
Fear of Isolation
When the phone is the only way to connect with loved ones, being without it can lead to feelings of loneliness. To avoid this sensation, a person may feel compelled to keep their 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 another form of anxiety.
Phone addiction has a “toxic” effect that influences a person’s consciousness and their relationships with the real world.
Phone Addiction in Teenagers and Children
In youth, this problem manifests similarly to how it does in 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 inaccessibility of the gadget;
- 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, 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 in hand. In children, phone addiction is clearly manifested through hysterical behavior when they are prohibited from using it. 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). The negative impact of social media manifests in the cultivation of perfectionism, security, and carefreeness, undermining children’s and teenagers’ self-esteem and confidence. Research shows that the likelihood of depression in children with is twice as high as the corresponding age norm. Additionally, children addicted to gadgets often exhibit a lack of attention, deteriorating social contacts, and an inability to perform any task 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 . Ophthalmologists are raising alarms: the incidence of myopia has increased several times in recent decades. The negative impact of screens on the eyes is due to a decrease in the blink rate, leading 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 due to the hunched position while using a phone (the so-called ) or prolonged computer use (leading to rapid fatigue and pain in the back, neck, and shoulders).
Types of Gadget Fear
Experts note that unpleasant feelings from the inaccessibility of mobile phones and other familiar gadgets are experienced by everyone, but this 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-phobia – when a person constantly checks and gets lost online due to the fear of missing something important. 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, unsatisfactory social life, and fear of direct communication (people increasingly avoid traditional calls, preferring text messages to avoid 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 the 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 in medical centers.
See a doctor if:
- you feel the fear of “missing out”;
- 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 new calls, messages, or updates, but when you check, there are none.
In such cases, doctors recommend cognitive-behavioral or exposure therapy, which can help alleviate the symptoms of nomophobia. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) teaches individuals to manage negative thoughts and feelings focused on the absence of their gadget. Exposure therapy teaches individuals to confront their fears through gradual exposure, meaning that a person with nomophobia is encouraged to get used to living without their phone.
Initially, they might not take their phone to bed or the bathroom, then refrain from pulling it out of their bag or pocket to check messages while on the go, avoid distractions from gadgets when talking to real people, turn it off or not turn it on during weekends, and so on. The therapy aims to gradually 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.
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