Hardly anyone wants to be without their cell phone these days. However, for some people, especially “digital natives”, the intense attachment to the smartphone takes on extreme, sometimes pathological proportions. TECHBOOK explains the typical features of a new and apparently serious variety of anxiety disorder: the so-called nomophobia.
The term nomophobia (composed of “No mobile phobia“) stands for the fear of not having a smartphone with you or not being reachable. This does not mean a simple feeling of discomfort, which everyone who has forgotten their mobile phone at home or even had it stolen should know. We are talking about features of an anxiety disorder. Therefore, the phenomenon is increasingly becoming the focus of science. Read here what we already know about nomophobia.
Constant smartphone use can have unhealthy consequences
The use of communication devices, especially smartphones, has increased steadily in recent years. According to the statistics portal extra 16-29 year olds use their device for an average of two hours and 47 minutes a day. Sometimes being unavailable or being able to get in touch with others yourself – hardly conceivable. It’s no wonder that you can find it uncomfortable if the battery runs out on the go or you don’t have reception for a long time. And of course there are also (emergency) situations in which the fear of not being able to contact anyone would be understandable. But nomophobia does not describe rational fears. This is about massively exaggerated feelings, which are therefore mainly known to young people.
Even a few minutes without a cell phone increase heart rate
In a 2017 study with 18 to 26 year olds, researchers from Hungary used heart rate monitors to find out that just a few minutes without a cell phone led to an increased heart rate1. Furthermore, they observed a tendency for the students to act over the top (e.g. sudden scratching of the face, fidgeting, nervous twitching of the eyes). To understand: The test subjects were only supposed to leave their mobile phones for a few minutes, during which they solved various brain teasers on the computer in another room.
Also interesting: Why are more and more people afraid of making phone calls?
Study from Germany on the topic of nomophobia
Researchers at the PFH Private University of Applied Sciences in Göttingen have delved even further into the subject in a recent study2. The main aim was to find out which symptoms indicate nomophobia and to create a “tested diagnostic tool” for this. Last but not least, the proportion of those affected in Germany should be determined. All the details of the study are in the online journal Public Library of Science (PLOS ONE) read, TECHBOOK summarizes.
Procedure for the investigation
807 women and men with an average age of 25 – “digital natives”, i.e. who grew up in the digital world (with smartphones and social networks) – took part in the study. They were given an adaptation of the Nomophobia Questionnaire NMP-Q. This is a questionnaire that is frequently used internationally, according to Prof. Dr. Yvonne Görlich from the University of Göttingen in one press release. The sheet captures a total of four dimensions of smartphone withdrawal symptoms and their strength. These dimensions were translated as unable to communicate, loss of connection, unable to access information, and sacrifice of convenience.
Result: Every second affected – women more
Based on the completed questionnaires, around half of the participants showed a “medium level of nomophobia” and at least 4.1 percent of the participants had a severe form of the disorder. According to Prof. Görlich, women should have achieved “higher nomophobia scores” overall, especially for the factors “not being able to communicate” and “renunciation of comfort”. She explained this by saying that women generally have a greater need for social relationships and use this more for communication than men.
Typical symptoms of nomophobia
Smartphone addiction and nomophobia are certainly related. But one describes an addiction and the other an anxiety disorder, explains study director Görlich. The symptoms are also different accordingly. In nomophobia, there is a “subjectively shifted, excessive feeling of fear”. Affected people are nervous, sometimes panicky and have noticeable irritability. Depending on the severity of the “findings” (- in quotation marks, because nomophobia is not yet officially recognized as a disease), the symptoms can be those of a classic anxiety disorder. These include e.g. B. tremors, sweating, tension, shortness of breath, and gastrointestinal complaints.
who are considered to be particularly at risk
It is already known from previous studies that nomophobics often suffer from other abnormalities. Many of them describe themselves as lonely, suffering from depression and/or reduced impulse control. It is also known that nomophobia “correlates significantly positively” with the widespread FOMO (“Fear of Missing Out”). This reciprocal relationship makes sense, because those affected always know what is happening thanks to the constant use of smartphones and social media. For her, being cut off from the cell phone means “not knowing what’s going on and therefore not being able to have a say, no longer belonging”. This is how Florian Beutenmüller from the youth media portal “handy sector.de” explains it.
Further studies are now planned to determine whether controlled smartphone use can alleviate existing nomophobia.