My Personal Experience With Nomophobia

By Camilo Echeverri Bernal on September 1, 2014

Nomophobia essentially boils down to the fear and perhaps even the dread of being without a phone or out of touch with people.

In my opinion, it can also extend to the anxiety of not having access to social networks on the go, or the inability of snapping a selfie, cheking Tumblr or watching Vine.

According to this Business Insider article, we have developed a psychological attachment to our phones.

Seeing as how 90 percent of Americans own a phone and 58 percent are the owners of smartphones, I do not see this as impossible. I wish to share my personal experience with nomophobia and what led me to realize that I might be addicted to my smartphone.

Upon losing my phone last week I experienced the typical symptoms described such as feelings of panic or desperation, particularly because it was the iPhone I’d been with for about six months. And even though I was able to use an old phone while I found a replacement, it was not the same. I even had trouble focusing on work or conversations and I felt some anxiety.

This phenomenon according to Doctor David Greenfield, an Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, is caused by an attachment to our phones, and is similar to other addictions in that it involves a boost of dopamine.

Said neurotransmitter regulates the reward center of the brain, which in turn reinforces certain behaviors we believe we will be rewarded for. It is more common than we’d like to think.

image via http://www.aacc.net

So, my particular horror story and realization of how dependant I was on my iPhone started on Thursday of last week when I could not find where it was. Perhaps I left it on the bus at the station? Or perhaps I got pick-pocketed?

I was without a phone to call or text anyone or to check up on my Twitter. I felt that I had almost bonded with my phone in a strange, symbiotic way. I gave my phone battery, and in turn, it gave me entertainment and a feeling of calm and connection with the world. I no longer had that to resort to, and even though I carried books with me, I felt a little empty.

I don’t exactly know just how many times I check my phone in a 24 hour period, but it might verge around 100-200. It makes sense, seeing as how a 2013 study confirmed this fact. It’s usually pretty inocuous.

I want to go on Swarm, the Foursquare app to check into a place, or browse through my Pinterest or Tumblr feed. I might even listen to Spotify for a second, or check what my friends have posted on their Instagram. Since I’ve had my iPhone, I have regarded this as rather ordinary, everyday behavior. I doubt it’s a healthy outlook.

image via http://www.aacc.net

Now, upon getting my new iPhone 5s as a replacement for my iPhone 5 I can truly say that I appreciate my phone more.

It is possible, however, that I will start looking into ways of not letting it get in the way of life. When I am out with my boyfriend I will try not to look at it so much, particularly when having dinner.

There are different ways to tackle the problem,  such as trying to spend more time with other people in active conversations. Regardless of work-related issues or having to check on text-messages every ten minutes, it is important to focus on the here and now.

The most important step is accepting and realizing that we have a problem. Another way to perhaps keep track of how much time we spend on our devices on a daily basis is to download an app that helps us do exactly just that.

Even if I am back into the fold of iPhone users, I need to remind myself that such an experience might be a wake-up call. At the end of the day, likes and re-tweets or re-blogs have very little effect upon my life.

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