Go ahead and start looking for a support group. You, and the rest of the country, will be diagnosed with nomophobia. You’ll feel bad for a while, maybe try to make changes, and then everything will go back to normal and you may just question science and studies like this one.
Nomophobia is short for “no mobile phone phobia” which is basically the overwhelming anxiety we get when we don’t have access to our phones. Iowa State University put together a questionairre to help you decide if you do in fact have this phobia. Most of us, myself included, would quickly admit to being afraid of this very situation. I can’t stand not to know where my phone is or have access to it. What if breaking news happens and I don’t get the tweet? What if my kids’ school calls and I can’t answer? What if my friend in San Francisco goes live on Periscope and I miss it? Real life struggles for a nomophobe like me.
The Iowa State University study found that 58% of men and 47% of women have this phobia. This was based on the feelings people expressed when they were separated from their phone. In case you want to take the short survey for yourself, the questions are below.
However, does this anxiety really deserve phobia status? Should we equate that to people who are genuinely nervous about heights or being in large groups of people? Robert Weiss, a sex addiction specialist and co-author of the book “Closer Together, Further Apart: The Effect of Technology and the Internet on Parenting, Work and Relationships” had this to say about nomophobia: “It’s insulting to the people who have true addictions and true phobias who need profound help that just because they miss something they’re dependent on, that they’re then phobic.” Basically, my body isn’t going into withdrawals and I’m not going to suffer from disabling attacks if my phone is out of reach. I get it, it isn’t addiction or a hardcore phobia, but I really like my phone and I really don’t like not being close to it.
In the meantime, don’t feel bad if you are connected to your phone. It is how we connect with one another. Having our phone gives us something to do in the line at the DMV or while we’re waiting on our Skinny Pumpkin Latte. So we like our phones, why turn that into a phobia? Is it really so bad to be attached to something? Yes, I am afraid of being without my smart phone and no, I won’t be asking for help.
Nomophobia Questionnaire
Study participants were asked to respond to the following statements on a scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). Total scores were calculated by adding the responses to each item. The higher scores corresponded to greater nomophobia severity.
- I would feel uncomfortable without constant access to information through my smartphone.
- I would be annoyed if I could not look information up on my smartphone when I wanted to do so.
- Being unable to get the news (e.g., happenings, weather, etc.) on my smartphone would make me nervous.
- I would be annoyed if I could not use my smartphone and/or its capabilities when I wanted to do so.
- Running out of battery in my smartphone would scare me.
- If I were to run out of credits or hit my monthly data limit, I would panic.
- If I did not have a data signal or could not connect to Wi-Fi, then I would constantly check to see if I had a signal or could find a Wi-Fi network.
- If I could not use my smartphone, I would be afraid of getting stranded somewhere.
- If I could not check my smartphone for a while, I would feel a desire to check it.
If I did not have my smartphone with me:
- I would feel anxious because I could not instantly communicate with my family and/or friends.
- I would be worried because my family and/or friends could not reach me.
- I would feel nervous because I would not be able to receive text messages and calls.
- I would be anxious because I could not keep in touch with my family and/or friends.
- I would be nervous because I could not know if someone had tried to get a hold of me.
- I would feel anxious because my constant connection to my family and friends would be broken.
- I would be nervous because I would be disconnected from my online identity.
- I would be uncomfortable because I could not stay up-to-date with social media and online networks.
- I would feel awkward because I could not check my notifications for updates from my connections and online networks.
- I would feel anxious because I could not check my email messages.
- I would feel weird because I would not know what to do.
