With time, new technology is emerging every now and then with an aim to make our lives easier. Without any doubt, technology has revolutionized our lives. Every day, we are introduced with a new product of technology and one of the remarkable outcome of technology is cell phone. Cell phone has reached every hand and it is not anymore a tool of two-way communication only but much more than that.
Cell phone now known as smartphone has got the world hooked with its palm-sized screen. With an internet connection, the smartphone is like the ‘world’ in our hands. On a click, we can get the information about anything we like. Also, we can connect with several people, living in remote areas, at the same instant with features like video conferencing. It is obvious that people from all walks of life are greatly benefited by the use of this technology and undoubtedly it has hugely contributed to the progress and development of the world but there are always two sides of a story- with good also comes the bad.
Do you have trouble staying away from your smartphone or feel concerned when you know you’ll lose service for a few hours? Do thoughts of being without your phone cause anxiety? If so, it’s possible you could have nomophobia, an extreme fear of not having your phone or not being able to use it.
In the year 2018, The Cambridge University declared this phenomenon as ‘Nomophobia’ in. The word nomophobia has been derived from the phrase – ‘No Mobile Phobia’, that is, the phobia of being without a mobile phone or the fear at the idea of being without your mobile phone (mainly smartphones) or unable to use. According to the latest research, nomophobia has gripped the huge proportion of the population. People, mainly, teens or the young adults are showing much dependence on these useful, not essential smart phones. Many fail to pass even an hour without them which is something to worry about.
Nomophobia, is a fear of not having your phone that’s so persistent and severe it affects one’s daily life. Phobic suffers from anxiety, discomfort, and nervousness after being out of contact with a cell phone. That is why it has been included in the Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. Nomophobia effects noxiously not only the physical and psychological health of a person but also his social life by making a user dependent on the mobile phone obsessively. Medical complications like headache, eyestrain, body aches, neck and thumb ache, lack of sleep, etc. are also observed in the phobic.
Take a balanced approach in life. It is better is to utilize the time wisely and minimize the smartphone use or use them only when required. We need to concentrate to achieve what we are meant to – mastering the technology without letting it master us. This wise use of smartphones, on one hand, would be in our interest and on the other hand, will help us stay away from Nomophobia.
by: Abeer Arshad
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