This relatively new condition is also one of the most – if not the most – prevalent in the Western world.
Like most phobias, sufferers report bouts of severe anxiety and irrational fear.
According to a recent survey, as many as 66% of us suffer Nomophobia. But what is it?
Nomophobia is also known as No Mobile Phone Phobia and is characterized by:
- An inability to ever turn your phone off
- Obsessively checking for missed calls, emails and texts
- Constantly topping up your battery life
- Being unable to pop to the bathroom without taking your phone in with you.
Whilst you may not recognize these habits in yourself, how about the kids in your life? The constant need to feel connected or see that their latest photo or status update is liked.
Many teens report that the first thing they do when they get up is check their phone, which is usually bedside. They also report doing the same thing last thing at night before going to sleep.
Just this week Generation Next speaker Michael Carr-Gregg called for teenagers to sit a license style test before being allowed access to smartphone technology. I wonder what areas would be covered in such a license. I suspect it would revolve around safe social media habits, abiding by a set of rules and responsibilities.
Of equal importance is addressing the behaviours outlined above, and as with most behaviours, role-modelling is of paramount importance. And parents do most of the role-modelling in this regard.
During the last couple of years, in virtually every parent teacher interview I’ve had, phones have rung, buzzed or flashed. And in most of those instances, parents take the call or respond to the text message – it’s always, “very important – sorry, I’ll switch it off now.”
Next time you’re sitting on a plane taxiing to the terminal, see how fast people reach for their iPhones once the captain says it’s ok to do so. The captain may as well don a cowboy hat, chew on some tobacco and say, “Draw!”
At the top of this piece I said, “Whilst you may not recognize these habits in yourself.”
The fact is you probably do.
But is it such a bad thing? Is it really something we need to worry about?
If it’s causing genuine anxiety then perhaps yes – it is.
Try switching your mobile off for an hour, a day, or a weekend. See how you feel.
Author: Dan Haesler, he is a teacher, writer and speaker at the Mental Health & Wellbeing of Young People seminars He writes for the Sydney Morning Herald and blogs at http://danhaesler.com/ and tweets at @danhaesler
I now see kids as young as 6 taking phones to school, its crazy how much technology has become part of our lives. I know I check my phone every night before bed and every morning, hope I don’t have nomophobia but I bet a lot of kids out there would, with the need to constantly update themselves on facebook/twitter. Kids need to get outside and enjoy themselves every day instead of sitting in front of a tv/computer/phone/game console and get some fresh air!
Gosh, i don’t have kids yet- but sounds like I have this terrible disorder too! Totally agreeing with Imogen, i see kids in primary school owning mobiles. Perhaps we adults are to blame, we are giving our kids gadgets at a young age to play with and they have grown up depending on these toys.
Telephone companies should look at how they structure fees. Texting is cheaper so kids text constantly and wait for a reply. If it was cheaper to make a call, they may actually learn to talk to people again. I have a daughter who is 19, and and a son who is nearly 18. They both sleep with their phones, which doubles as an ipod (music) but yes they are constantly checking and responding to their phones.
I suppose the other side of it is that parents sometimes don’t give them phones as ‘toys’. I know my parents gave me my first mobile when I started high school and had to be on public transport for an hour and a half on the way home – it was a safety and peace of mind thing.. It was the simplest of gadgets and phones have come a long way since then. I find it disturbing when I see primary school children with the latest technology – why do they need it ?
They don’t neet it! Mother of 2 teenagers.
Our organisation runs parent and teengae camps part of the agreement is to leave all phones and electronics at home for 5 days, what we notice is that for the first few hours the levels of anxiety rise, after 2 days people are saying how great it is not to have that constant contact, it allows them to relax and have real conversations about real topics