Nomophobia: The Fear of Being Without Your Phone

Smartphones are an amazing technological innovation. We can use them to reach people anywhere across the world. We have the totality of recorded human knowledge in a device that fits in our pockets. Incredible.

We use smartphones for an ever-increasing range of daily tasks. As a result, they have become an integral part of our lives.

We use them to call, text, and message family and friends. We use them to play video games. We use them to surf the Web. We use them for work. We use them to snap pictures and take videos. The list goes on and on.

What is smartphone addiction?

Smartphone addiction is commonly referred to as “nomophobia”, which is the fear of being without a mobile phone (no-mobile phobia). Smartphone addiction includes the fear of losing, forgetting, and breaking your phone. It also includes the fear of not getting cell service, having your phone battery die, etc.

This fear causes stress, anxiety, and panic for the afflicted person. This harms their well-being and mental health.

Symptoms

There are many symptoms of nomophobia to be on the lookout for. According to VeryWellMind, these include emotional and mental symptoms such as:

Constantly checking your phone
Bringing your phone with you everywhere you go, even into your bathroom
Not being able to turn your phone off
Constantly checking to make sure your phone is with you
Charging your battery even when it is close to being fully charged
Being afraid of not being able to connect to Wifi or mobile data
Fearing an emergency and not being able to call for help
Stressing out about being disconnected from your online presence or identity
Skipping your planned activities to spend more time on your phone

Don’t panic if you related to one or two of these symptoms, but pay attention to how these symptoms affect your daily life.

These emotional and mental symptoms can lead to long-term mental health issues including:

Increased depression
Sleep disruption
Increased stress
Increased anxiety
Not being able to concentrate
Increased loneliness
Increased narcissistic personality traits
Decreased attention span
Not being able to think deeply

There are also physical symptoms that people with nomophobia can experience as well, including:

Shortness of breath
Increased heart rate
Sweating
Shaking or trembling
Feeling weak
Dizziness
Panic attacks

Don't worry, nomophobia is normal

Spending a lot of time on your phone isn’t necessarily a problem itself. It becomes a problem when it negatively impacts your life. This occurs when you prioritize your phone over family, friends, school, work, hobbies, your health, and so on.

Keep this thought in mind next time you’re scrolling through social media, texting, etc when you are bored.

Researchers fear that nomophobia affects nearly every smartphone user to some extent. Roughly one-quarter of all smartphone users experience severe nomophobia symptoms.

There is not a clinical diagnosis for nomophobia. It isn’t officially recognized as a disorder according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). However, if several of these symptoms resonate with you, consider speaking with a therapist or psychiatrist.

A therapist can walk you through the process of Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) to help you identify the negative thought patterns that come from your nomophobia. They can help you eliminate these negative thoughts and replace them with healthier ones that help put you back in control of your life.

How to beat nomophobia

With the way technology and society have progressed recently, we cannot completely escape using smartphones in our lives.

However, we can find ways to decrease our dependence on them.

Here are 5 strategies you can use to beat nomophobia:

Set boundaries for your smartphone use
Identify why you reach for your phone so often
Don’t bring your phone with you into bed
Keep yourself busy with things that don’t require your phone
Create rewards for yourself for not using your phone for a certain amount of time

Ultimately, finding a balance between your real life and your digital life on your smartphone is key. Find ways to take breaks from your phone, and engage more with the physical world. It’s a great way to live a less stressful, less depressing, and less anxious life.

References:

https://www.helpguide.org/articles/addictions/smartphone-addiction.htm

https://www.verywellmind.com/nomophobia-the-fear-of-being-without-your-phone-4781725

https://www.e-counseling.com/articles/cellphone-separation-anxiety/