Nomophobia

Nomophobia is the fear of being without a cell phone. The name comes from no-mobile-phone phobia and was coined in a 2010 YouGov study in the United Kingdom. It is not an official diagnosis as of 2018.

Research of nomophobia centers on both the anxiety people feel when they do not have their cell phones and the degree to which people have come to rely on the devices. Nomophobia came about because of the increase of technology and human reliance on it. This is especially true of smartphones. As cell phones became more available, people relied on them more and more. From social media to games, banking and paying for purchases, the devices have become entrenched in everyday life.

Background

Cell phones became increasingly common during the early twenty-first century. As smartphones became widely available during the 2010s, many more people acquired the devices. For example, in 2011, the Pew Research Center found that 83 percent of Americans owned cell phones, while 35 percent of these were smartphones. By 2016, 95 percent of Americans owned cell phones, with 77 percent owning smartphones. The vast majority of Americans ages eighteen to twenty-nine had smartphones (92 percent), while 42 percent of those sixty-five and older had smartphones.

The Pew Research Center also found that as of 2016, many Americans were increasingly relying on cell phones for all of their Internet use. About one in ten adults used smartphones but had no traditional home broadband service.

The UK Post Office commissioned a 2010 YouGov study of 2,163 people that revealed alarming statistics about their relationships to their cell phones. According to Psychology Today, it found that about 53 percent of cell phone users in Britain became anxious when they lost their mobile phones or were unable to use them because they had no signals or were out of power or available minutes, data, etc. Broken down by gender, 58 percent of men and 47 percent of women experienced this anxiety. The majority said they were upset if they felt they were not in touch with people, and compared their anxiety level to a dental appointment or wedding day nerves. As of 2014, the magazine reported, 65 percent of Americans slept with or next to their smartphones.

The widespread use of devices such as smartphones has changed the way people think. Many have become reliant on technology. Researchers have found that when people have external resources to provide information, this has an effect on their transactive memory. Transactive memory is a theory that members of a group rely on one another for information. For example, in a couple, one person might have considerable knowledge of the names of movie actors, and the other person does not have a need to know this because the information is readily available from the partner. When people have little need to remember things because they can easily call up information on a smartphone, they are not able or motivated to commit information to memory. The smartphone often takes on the friendship role that people have traditionally had with other humans.

The increasing need to remain in touch has been seen among modern workers. Even on vacation, many people have reported they felt compelled to check work e-mails. People have admitted to checking texts while on dates or even while being intimate. More young adults are taking their smartphones into the shower. Interaction with devices has replaced face-to-face human contact for many people as these devices exert a strong pull on people's attention. Experts say humans need genuine contact with others to fend off feelings of isolation, but such connections are not made using technology.

Overview

Researchers have been interested in smartphone use since the devices became prevalent. As people became preoccupied with their small screens—walking into traffic without looking and causing traffic accidents while texting, for example—researchers became concerned about the possibility of addiction. In neuropsychiatric terms, addiction describes tolerance, withdrawal symptoms, dependence, and social problems. Researchers believe that smartphone addiction is similar to Internet addiction.

A 2010 Stanford University survey found that 10 percent of participants reported they were addicted to their iPhones. Another 34 percent believed they were nearly addicted to the devices. In 2011 and 2012, researchers in Korea used a series of questionnaires to identify smartphone addicts. They used Internet addiction tests and standard substance dependence and abuse diagnosis, among other tools. Nearly two hundred subjects were tested and classified in an effort to develop a smartphone addiction proneness scale. They found that addiction rates among adolescents were higher than among adults.

Researchers at Iowa State University wanted to study nomophobia, but they needed to first measure it. They asked undergraduates questions about their relationships with their smartphones, such as their feelings and thoughts about the devices. They then designed a twenty-question measure called the Nomophobia Questionnaire (NMP-Q). The questions ask participants to rate their responses to being without use of their smartphones. Tallying the answers allows researchers to classify respondents. Scores of 21 to 59 indicate mild nomophobia; 66 to 99 moderate nomophobia; greater than 100 severe nomophobia. Based on the results of the NMP-Q, researchers discovered four components of nomophobia: inability to communicate with people, loss of connectedness, inability to access information, and loss of convenience. These components contributed to people's anxiety when they did not have use of a cell phone.

Addiction to technology, and in particular the Internet, raises many concerns. As more people rely on computers to perform their work, they may struggle to distance themselves from technology. Smartphones have replaced personal computers and laptops for many people, and are usually in reach for much of the time. This near-constant accessibility can lead to addiction and fear of losing connection. Smartphone addicts experience withdrawal—anxiety and impatience when they do not have access to their devices. Researchers say people who experience nomophobia often have other addictions and mental health issues as well. Depression is the most common condition those with nomophobia share.

Some experts have offered suggestions for how to balance life and technology, especially if being unconnected causes anxiety. They suggest turning off cell phones and engaging in more face-to-face human interaction. Individuals should set time limits for how often to use technology, and balance this with other activities and interactions. They should turn off devices once a month, for a day or more. In addition, individuals should leave their devices at least fifteen feet away while sleeping.

Bibliography

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Elmore, Tim. "Nomophobia: A Rising Trend in Students." Psychology Today, 18 Sept. 2014, www.psychologytoday.com/blog/artificial-maturity/201409/nomophobia-rising-trend-in-students. Accessed 15 Jan. 2018.

Kwon, Min, et al. "Development and Validation of a Smartphone Addiction Scale (SAS)." PLOS One, vol. 8, no. 2, 2013.

Marsden, Paul. "Nomophobia (Smartphone Dependency) Diagnostic Test—Marketing Opportunities." Digital Intelligence Today, 25 Mar. 2015, digitalintelligencetoday.com/nomophobia-smartphone-dependency-diagnostic-test-marketing-opportunities/. Accessed 15 Jan. 2018.

Mertz, Theo. "'Nomophobia' Affects Majority of UK." Telegraph, 27 Aug. 2013, www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/10267574/Nomophobia-affects-majority-of-UK.html. Accessed 15 Jan. 2018.

"Mobile Fact Sheet." Pew Research Center, 12 Jan. 2017, www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheet/mobile/. Accessed 15 Jan. 2018.

Stone, Madeline. "Smartphone Addiction Now Has a Clinical Name." Business Insider, 31 July 2014, www.businessinsider.com/what-is-nomophobia-2014-7. Accessed 15 Jan. 2018.

Valdesolo, Piercarlo. "Scientists Study Nomophobia—Fear of Being without a Mobile Phone." Scientific American, www.scientificamerican.com/article/scientists-study-nomophobia-mdash-fear-of-being-without-a-mobile-phone/. Accessed 15 Jan. 2018.

Yamshon, Leah. "Nerd, Interrupted: Inside a Smartphone Addiction Treatment Center." PC World, 27 Aug. 2013, www.pcworld.com/article/2047477/nerd-interrupted-inside-a-smartphone-addiction-treatment-center.html. Accessed 15 Jan. 2018.

Yildirim, Caglar, and Ana-Paula Correia. "Exploring the Dimensions of Nomophobia: Development and Validation of a Self-Reported Questionnaire." Computers in Human Behavior, vol. 49, 2015, pp. 130–137.