[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The word Nomophobia stands for No Mobile Phobia. The mobile phone has become for some an extension of their body. If they do not carry it, they believe they are missing something, like the phantom syndrome of somebody with an amputated limb. Do you think this could be your case?
Technology has made our lives easier. Being able to make a call from almost anywhere, orienting yourself in unknown places or that the agenda reminds you of a birthday are the most basic advantages.
Could you be hooked on your mobile?
However, have you ever thought about how many times a day you check your mobile phone? Have you ever considered how often you check on social media? Technology evolves rapidly. That raises the question of whether we are evolving fast enough to get used to it and make a responsible use. After all, technology is supposed to make our lives easier or better.
Calls, maps, calendar, task lists are the most common functionalities. The smartphone can be really helpful if we make a responsible use of it. But which other applications do you have installed?
Behind all those applications, there are companies that want to make money. The price for using a free application is usually advertising and notifications that inform us of offers and encourage us to use those apps.
Do you know what #Nomophobia is? Find out and how to recognise if you have it. Share on X
Nomophobia and FOMO syndrome
How many applications do you have on your smartphone? How often do you receive a notification? Nomophobia, that is, being unable to be without your mobile, is related to the FOMO syndrome, the fear of missing out on something.
Notifications urge us to check our mobile phone. There are also applications that only let you decide whether to have notifications enabled or disabled. You cannot differentiate between activity alerts and advertisements. And the latter will pop up any time.
So do notifications really help us or do they just keep us busy and distracted? Does a game notification help you or rather encourage you to play more often? Does a social media alert help you or just arouse your curiosity and fear of missing something?
#Nomophobia and #FOMO are related. Find out why and how to get unhooked. Share on X
What are the signs of Nomophobia
Mobile phones have become an essential tool in our life. The question is whether you use it as a helpful tool or it has become an appendix of your body. Let us see what the signs are that you suffer from nomophobia.
1. You seem an addict in need of a kick
You feel anxiety, irritation and moodiness when you are without your smartphone or you cannot check it for a while due to being in a meeting, in the theatre, cinema or on a plane. You suffer from what is known as withdrawal syndrome.
2. Your mobile phone takes up a lot of time
The different applications for news and information, social networks or games consume you time that you should devote to other tasks or distract your attention from the people around you.
3. You fool yourself thinking you are not hooked
If someone suggests that you may have a problem, you get offended and deny it. You think it is not so bad; that you do not have a problem.
4. Others complain about your exaggerated use of your smarthpone
People around you call your attention or even complain about the fact that you do not even seem to drop your phone for sleep.
5. You have better phases followed by relapses
You go through times when you seem to have disengaged. You can enjoy the company of your family or friends without checking your phone every other minute. But suddenly something hooks you again and you go back to your old ways.
There are signs that indicate that you could be suffering from #Nomophobia. Find them out. Share on X
Ask yourself if you suffer from Nomophobia
On a scale of 1 to 10, how nervous do you get if you cannot check your phone in a while? Be it because you have run out of battery, you have forgotten it at home or you are in a meeting or an event where you cannot check it for a while. How much do you worry about missing something? Can you concentrate on what you are doing without thinking that you are without your mobile phone?
You might think that your work forces you to keep an eye on your phone. But in your free time or your holidays, how often do you check your mobile phone? Also, are you really obliged to check up on your email outside working hours or have you self-imposed that obligation? Is it really necessary that you forward a certain email at 11 at night or before 8 in the morning for example? And of course, as you are checking your phone, why not have a look what is going on on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram …
On a scale of 1 to 10, how nervous does it make you not having your phone or not being able to check it in a while? #Nomophobia Share on X
How to get unhooked from your mobile phone
It has not been so many years that having a mobile phone was not normal. In fact, still not everyone can afford that luxury and even less think about having access to the internet at all times. Whilst some would like to have that facility, others overuse it.
If you have realised that you might have nomophobia, I have some suggestions for you to reduce your dependence on your mobile phone and make a more responsible use of it.
1. Establish hours for use
A first step is to commit to not checking your phone at certain times. How about not using it until after breakfast and stop using it before dinner. That way you prolong your hours of rest. It is shown that the light of mobile screens has an adverse affect on nighttime rest.
If you usually attend work emails after hours, ask yourself to what extent it is really necessary and you are obliged to do so? Just because you carry your work email on your smartphone, it does not mean that you have to read and answer it at all times. Unless you have agreed to full availability with your company, I suggest you educate yourself to ignore emails after hours except in case of extraordinary situations.
2. Do not use your phone during meals
In addition to the aforementioned, I suggest that you do not use your mobile phone during meals, even if you are eating alone. Take the opportunity to enjoy the food with mindfulness and focus on the act of eating. After eating, instead of checking your smartphone, you could read a book or take a walk for example.
If you are eating with somebody else, all the more reason to not need your phone. Enjoy the company and talk with the other fellow diners. The human being is a social animal that needs relationships with other people in the “offline” world. Digital relationships on social media cannot replace that.
3. Do not use your mobile phone as alarm clock
Sleeping with the smartphone next to you can harm your rest. If you use it as an alarm clock, you can also feel more tempted to check it as soon as you wake up. So rather leave it out of the bedroom.
4. Limit the number of times you use social media
How many times a day do you check the different social networks in which you have a profile? If you think you do not spend much time on social media, start paying attention. You probably open them every time you feel bored as well as every time you get a notification. But do you really think you are going to miss important things if you check social media less?
To find out how your friends and family are doing there are much more productive ways such as meeting with them or giving them a call. Because, of all the people you are connected to on social media, how many are really friends?
What is the purpose of what you share on social media?
In addition to checking out what others do, do you usually share your day-to-day on social media? Do you think it really is so important that you share everything you do throughout the day: how you got up, what you ate, what you did? Consider if you feel the need to receive reactions to everything you do. Do you think that if you do not share what you have done, it feels like it has not happened? Is it not more important that you live and enjoy the experience than sharing it on social media?
It can be liberating to disengage from social media. That is why I suggest that you establish a maximum number of times a day that you are going to check them.
5. Disable dispensable notifications
To help you avoid the temptation to check your cell phone every few minutes, it is very useful to disable most notifications. Calendar or task reminders can be of great help. However, I suggest that you deactivate everything that is not necessary such as WhatsApp groups, social networks, games and notifications from other applications that only encourage you to use them or buy something.
6. Find yourself “offline” hobbies
Think about all the time that goes into using your mobile applications. Before you used to spend so much time with your phone, what did you do with your time? Remember your interests and hobbies outside the world of internet and applications. When you use public transport, do you spend all the time with your mobile phone? What if you watch the journey and the other passengers, read a book or a magazine instead?
All that free time you dedicate to social media or mobile games, what other things could you do? There may be tasks at home that you have not done because you are always busy. Well, if you have time to scroll through Facebook, you would also have time for those tasks. But it is not all about duties and housework. Which hobbies have you abandoned because you never seem to find time for them? If you need to “force” yourself to take time for them, how about reserving slots in your agenda for it.
Are you hooked on your mobile phone? How to turn it into a useful tool instead of another body part. #Nomophobia Share on X
Do you have nomophobia?
After reading this post, do you think you have nomophobia? Or you might have noticed that you are not exactly hooked but you are on your way there. What do you plan to do to reduce your dependence on your mobile phone?
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