We all have that one friend who is always on the phone, s/he will carry it to wash rooms, sleep with it, continuously talk or keep on looking at the screen. Sometimes they will totally ignore what you are saying because they are far too engrossed with that device. Warn your friends for this can be more than just an annoying habit, it could turn out to be Nomophobia.
A recent study revealed that many people suffer from a fear of having ‘no mobile phone phobia’ aka Nomophobia. People often get stressed or panic if the phone has no network coverage, credit goes down or worse case scenario - the battery runs out. ‘I cant keep away from my phone, it goes with me everywhere, I keep checking my pockets to see my phone is there or not,’ says Nishant Chaudhary an 21-year-old, MBA student.
In the era of technology, where staying in touch is the need of the hour, dependency on smart phones has highly increased.
26-year-old Neha Sharma, a private school teacher, confesses that she gets jittery without her phone during the 45-minute lectures, ‘After every lecture I rush to staff room to check my phone. I constantly feel that someone would have tried to reach me so.’
When we look around we can see people constantly on their phones. People tend to share their lives online by putting Facebook updates or tweeting. Rahul Shah, an engineer, admits that he changed his gym due to the absence of mobile network in there. ‘I just couldn't concentrate on working out, I kept rushing out of the building to get network.’
Most blame the constant hankering to check phones on the need to stay connected. They don't realise that this can turn into a phobia. When people are not able to check their phones stress levels, anxiety and irritation increases. Dr Sushma Ojha, a psychologist, says, ‘Everybody needs to stay connected but they should remember that real world is more important the virtual one. They should try to switch off their phones at night or use it strictly for communication purpose. Try to spend more time with others than talking over the phone or sending a text.’