Current generation is addicted to smartphones as never before. These devices are our faithful companions during the day and in some cases even at night. However, with technological development there are not only advantages but also disadvantages. Nowadays, nomophobia is definitely one of them. So, what does nomophobia mean?
Definition of Nomophobia
The name nomophobia originated from english sentence: “no mobile phone phobia”. Nomophobic has a morbid fear that he will not have a signal, his battery will run out or he will forget his phone somewhere.
Mobile phones are a part of our lives and sometimes they are like our second brain. They store a lot of information – dates, phone numbers, addresses, emails, photos and various passwords. This is also one of the reasons why people have a panic attack when they imagine that they should lose their phone. Modern disease, which affects smartphone users, can affect any of us.
Nomophobia Symptoms
If you’re doing any of the following, you’re probably already phone addicted:
- You don’t put your phone down until you go to bed and the first thing after you wake up is looking for the phone.
- It often happens that you follow e-mails or current news on your mobile phone even during a meal.
- When you do not have a mobile phone with you or when your battery runs out of power and you cannot charge your mobile phone quickly, you feel anxious and stressed.
- When you are out of range of your cell phone signal, you feel like you are missing something.
- You are already looking forward to posting a new holiday photo on Facebook again.
- As soon as you hear the announcement that a new message has arrived on your mobile phone, you leave everything and run to see who misses you.
How Nomophobia Impacts our Daily Lives
You’re wasting time
Most people believe that when we do more than one thing at a time (also known as multi-tasking), we can do more. However, this is not quite true. Our brain is not equipped to do 2 completely different things at once, so when we try to do several things at once, we find that we have wasted more time than we have saved.
You will be feeling more anxiety
Not having a phone with you can increase your anxiety. One of the main causes of this anxiety is the feeling that if we do not have a smartphone with us, friends will not invite you to events or you will not find out about the latest funny pictures on Facebook. Even our body can recognize if we do not have a mobile phone with us.
You will sleep harder
If you start dealing with an influx of information just before bedtime, it can lead to sleeping issues. Sleeping issues can be increased by the fact that most people sleep with their cell phone. It’s not just that any beep that your mobile phone emits during the night can wake you up. Smartphones also emit a “blue” light that tells your brain it’s time to get up. Blue light suppresses the production of the hormone melatonin, which is responsible for controlling the sleep cycle. So if you sleep with your mobile phone, the risk of not sleeping well is very high.
Your children will copy bad habits from you
While we tell children not to play games or watch videos on the phone, we have it in our hands throughout the day.
In this way, children learn that it is normal to be available on phone at all times and start thinking that if they are not on Facebook for a while, they will lose important “news and information”. It is therefore not surprising that with every study focusing on the use of smartphones among young adults, we find that we use smartphones more and more often.
How to Get Rid of Nomophobia?
Put down your phone and stop being a nomophobic! Modern addiction can swallow people and therefore it needs to be combated. Do you have everything you need on your mobile?
Turn off all notifications on apps or use individual app settings to be the one to decide when and what to read.
Only turn on your data connection when you really need it. A nice side effect is that the battery lasts significantly longer. Also use OFFLINE alternative sources – car maps, books, mechanical alarm clock … If you need to focus on work, remove the phone from your field of vision or turn the display down so that you cannot see the display.
Determine the moments you will spend without technology at hand – for example, banning technology in the bedroom before and during sleep. The ideal time is not to use the mobile phone at all for at least an hour before going to bed. Also no more mobile phone at the bathroom! Except nomophobia you should also think about the fact that using a phone in the toilet is very unhygienic!
Try to go back to the good old diary. Write down everything you can there and improve your memory. Don’t be afraid to try digital detox to avoid nomophobia. And above all, it will definitely help you to easily forget about your phone, if you will move more in the fresh air, spend time with friends or find new hobbies you don’t need a phone for …