Nowadays mobile phone has become an integral part of our life. The technology that has brought the world in the hands of the people in modern times is the mobile phone. It is the most used electronic device in communication. Nowadays there is no task that cannot be done with a mobile phone.
Internet connectivity on mobile phones was one of the breakthrough events. Mobile phone is a device which can make your life easier when used properly, but misuse can be a center of wasting your precious time. Our lives have reached such a stage that it is not possible, nor should we, to separate mobile phones from our lives.
Nomophobia is short form of No Mobile Phone Phobia. Usually when the presence or absence of a thing or a situation causes emotional discomfort, it is termed as a ‘phobia’. The same is the case with nomophobia. Due to the loss of the mobile phone, disconnection from the network or the mobile phone running out of charge, you may experience some special symptoms. In view of these symptoms, you can be declared as a person suffering from ‘nomophobia’. Interestingly, the symptoms arise from certain circumstances of the mobile phone. We rely on mobile phones to access many services essential to our lives. For example, mobile phones are widely used in paying electricity bills. Now, if your mobile phone is lost or has a mechanical fault, you will naturally feel uneasy or apprehensive.
Let’s see what symptoms are established as prerequisites for suffering from nomophobia. The disease has two types of symptoms – mental and physical. Psychological factors include sudden feelings of fear, anxiety or depression when moving away from the mobile phone. Panicking when the mobile phone suddenly goes out of sight. Feeling stressed if you can’t use the mobile phone for a long time. The physical symptoms that people usually show in a fearful situation are also manifested in this disease. For example, sudden shaking or normal breathing is interrupted. Also loss of consciousness or sweating without any meteorological reason is also one of the physical symptoms of this disease. Basically, the physical symptoms of an affected person are attributed to the psychological state of nomophobia.
There is much debate as to what exactly causes nomophobia. But everyone agreed on over-reliance on mobile phones. According to experts, excessive dependence on mobile phones leads to an addiction in people. After the age of social media started, people’s addiction to mobile phones has reached an extreme. When a mobile phone addict suddenly realizes that he has lost or can no longer use the mobile phone, naturally there will be several emotional changes in him, which are not at all pleasant for him. Dopamine is a very necessary hormone in our body This is also partly responsible for nomophobia.
Let’s take a look at the statistical side of this disease. Currently, the number of mobile phone users in the whole world is more than 700 million. About ninety-one percent of the world’s total population has a mobile phone. About 66 percent of all mobile phone users in America admit to having symptoms of nomophobia. 50 percent of people who leave mobile phones at home suffer from mental discomfort. Statistics show that even in 26 percent of road accidents, drivers are using mobile phones at the time of the accident. 69 percent of mobile phone users wake up and reach for their mobile phone first before doing any work.
Nomophobia is not yet a globally recognized disease. Therefore, there are no specific recognized methods for the diagnosis of this disease. In 2015, a student at Iowa State University developed a questionnaire to diagnose the disease. By applying that questionnaire on about three hundred students, that student was also successful. A trained psychiatrist can usually diagnose a patient with the typical symptoms of any phobia. It cannot be said that a person is suffering from nomophobia if the symptoms mentioned above appear suddenly. However, if symptoms persist for more than six months, it is best to consult a trained psychiatrist.
Although nomophobia is not yet a recognized mental illness, there is no denying that it is a mental illness caused by overuse of technology. Symptoms of this disease are most common among young people. If you want, you can stay away from nomophobia by adopting some strategies. Avoiding mobile phones until late at night, leaving the mobile phone at home for a short time and staying outside, or staying away from all kinds of technology at a certain time of the day can keep a person away from nomophobia. Technology is invented to make people’s lives easier, life more enjoyable and comfortable. But when misuse of technology complicates life, the impact becomes dire. Care must be taken to prevent such a situation from arising.
