Nomophobia: Symptoms, Causes and Prevention

In today’s world, it seems impossible to function without our mobile phones. From simple tasks like looking at the time, finding out what day it is, and looking at the coming week’s weather forecast, to crucial activities like connecting to one’s near and dear ones, communicating with your workplace associates, and even attending online classes as school children, we are extremely dependent on our phones. Providing us with entertainment, news, banking services, and online shopping options, acting as a music player, camera, and alarm, being a storage device for many of our important documents, and very importantly, connecting us to the internet – our mobile phones are an inextricable part of our lives, without which anybody would feel incapable of going through a single day.

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Thus, although it is normal and justifiable to worry about losing your phone, certain people have an extreme fear of losing their phone. This condition has colloquially been termed as ‘nomophobia’. Let us take a deeper look at what it means to have nomophobia and possible ways of overcoming it.

What is Nomophobia?

The word nomophobia is an abbreviated form of ‘NO MObile PHone phoBIA’. As the term indicates, it refers to the psychological condition in which a person experiences fear and anxiety about not having access to their phones. This term was first coined in 2008 by a study commissioned by the UK Postal Office, which was aimed at finding out the possibility that overuse of mobile phones may lead to the development of anxiety disorders.

It includes a disproportionately high fear of losing or misplacing one’s phone, breaking it, being separated from it for a long duration (such as during a lengthy examination), being outside of mobile connectivity regions, and running out of battery without immediately available options of charging it. For people with nomophobia, these situations can cause a lot of stress and anxiety, or feelings of severe panic. Although it is not in itself a condition included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-5), it is formed based on the conditions described in it.

Researchers have described nomophobia as a phobia for a particular/specific thing.

What are the Causes of Nomophobia?

Some experts have suggested that nomophobia is a form of addiction caused by extreme mobile phone dependence. They have proposed changing the name of the disorder to “smartphone addiction disorder”. Researchers have speculated that other preexisting disorders, such as panic disorder, social anxiety, and social phobia may also contribute to the development of nomophobic symptoms. It is very difficult to determine if an individual’s nomophobia is a result of mobile phone addiction or caused by existing anxiety disorders.

Several factors can contribute to this condition. A fear of isolation may have a big role to play as in modern times, mobile phones are the primary tool for communicating with others. Avoiding loneliness is a major reason for people wanting to be close to their phones at all times. Another fear that can cause nomophobia is not being reachable. People may be afraid of missing out on important messages or calls. Sometimes, phobias develop out of negative experiences in the past, thus, one might also develop nomophobia if they lost their phone in the past which caused them immense distress.

What are some Signs and Symptoms of Nomophobia?

There is no official clinical diagnosis for nomophobia, but there are certain behaviours that indicate the presence of this condition:

• Being afraid of being in areas without WiFi or cellular network, making out of reach; stressing over being unable to access social media sites and being disconnected from their online identity.
• Charging your phone even when the phone battery is almost full, feelings of anxiety and panic when the phone battery goes below a certain level.
• Constantly checking your phones for new notifications, texts, emails, or calls.
• Take your phone with you everywhere you go, even to the bathroom.
• Skipping real-life activities to spend time scrolling on your phone.
• Repeatedly checking and making sure your phone is with you
• The inability to turn off your phone even for short durations

Apart from these behaviours, nomophobia can also manifest as physical symptoms. Losing your phone may cause all the classic symptoms of an anxiety or panic disorder such as fast breathing, increase in your heart rate, sweating profusely, feeling weak and dizzy, trembling or shaking body, agitation and disorientation, and in extreme cases, even panic attacks.

Read More: Social Media Addiction Among Children and how to deal with it.

Medical professionals use psychometric scales to diagnose nomophobia. Some scales developed for the disorder and commonly used are – Questionnaire of Dependence of Mobile Phone (QDMP), Test of Mobile Phone Dependence (TMPD), and Nomophobia Questionnaire (NMP-Q). These questionnaires usually ask respondents to rate how strongly they agree or disagree with statements such as “Running out of phone battery scares me”, and “I would feel uncomfortable without constant access to my smartphone”.

What are some Ways in which Nomophobia can be Prevented?

Because the disorder is fairly new, treatment options are limited due to lack of research. However, some methods which help relieve symptoms of other phobias and anxiety disorders are helpful. Medications such as clonazepam and tranylcypromine are often prescribed by professionals to help treat nomophobia. Behavioural therapies are the other major form of intervention in treating the condition. These therapies aim to address and question the underlying irrational fears and beliefs that cause the phobia.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

CBT can help you learn how to manage the negative thoughts and feelings that come up in your mind when you think about losing your phone. For example, if a fear associated with losing your phone is – “I will never be able to talk to all of my friends”, CBT can question this thought logically and help you replace it with the more rational thought – “All my contacts are backed up to my account, I can simply get a new phone and access my friends from it.”

Exposure therapy

Exposure therapy, in which a person gradually learns to face their phobias by being exposed to them in a slowly increasing intensity, is also used to treat nomophobia. In this behavioural technique, you might start by letting go of access to your phone for short durations initially, such as putting it in another room, and then progressively work your way up to leaving it for longer periods, such as going to the market without carrying your phone.

Read More: What Is the Growing Concern Behind Digital Addiction?

What can one do to Prevent Nomophobia?

With the myriad of functionalities that smartphones provide and our dependence on them for even basic tasks, it is impossible and unrealistic to completely cut off mobile phones from our lives. However, if you feel like your mobile phone use is edging toward an addiction, you can employ some strategies to prevent developing nomophobia:

1. Set Boundaries: Track your mobile phone usage time and establish rules for decreasing it. Limit your screen time to only a certain number of hours for the day. Avoid being on your phone during meals or when going to the bathroom.
2. Prioritise in-person Communication: It is very easy for us to replace human contact with contact through phones entirely. Thus, try to meet friends who are around you in person and spend time doing activities that do not require your phone.
3. Find Other Ways to Spend Your Time: Often, after hours of scrolling, we end up wondering where all our time went. It is better to replace screen time with other activities and hobbies that you enjoy. You can take up hobbies like reading, gardening, crafts such as embroidery and crochet, painting and sketching, playing a sport, or even simply taking a walk. This has also been termed as ‘Reality Therapy’.

Read More: Social Media Addiction Among Children and how to deal with it.

Summing Up

In our extremely smartphone-dependent lives, it is easy to lose track of life outside our devices. Although a modern condition, nomophobia poses a great threat to society, with more and more people being extremely addicted to their smartphones. Apart from the treatment and prevention avenues listed above, other factors can also play a huge role in battling this disorder.

First, parents must not provide their children with smartphones and other devices at an extremely young age, and even if they do, they must limit the time spent by children using them. The phenomenon of ‘IPad kids’ needs to be curbed, instead, children need to be motivated to engage in outdoor activities, play with their friends, and focus on creative activities and reading. Educational institutes must also impose some rules limiting phone use. They should appoint counsellors to educate and create awareness about the evils of excessive cell phone use.

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