No Phone Phobia
If you can't spend ten minutes without your cell phone, you may have a diagnosable mental illness. According to an article in the American Journal of Psychiatry, if you text or talk on your cell too much you may have a problem. They have even created an official title for the obsession nomophobia, the fear of not having your cell phone.
Research shows the stress levels from nomophobia can be as bad as going to the dentist. The problem is raising eyebrows across the country, taking a deeper look at our need for communication.
Matthew Whoolery's a psychology professor at BYU Idaho. Talking about the concerns with the increase in cell phone use, he asked the question, "When did we need to be reachable 24 hours a day, all the time?" This is being asked throughout the psychology world, resulting in the idea that the constant need for your cell phone is turning into a real mental problem. Are you surprised? As a nation we drive, talk, text, and take pictures on the phone, our lives revolve around it.
Students walking around BYU Idaho's campus seem mixed on their need for their phones.
When Ren Garner was asked if he was obsessed with his cell phone, he said, "it's my life ... pretty much."
Trevor Deursch said he wasn't "obsessed with it, I can live without it." But he continued, "I need it around, just in case.
While Imari Molifua was positive on his response, "I am not obsessed with my cell phone."
Whether people will admit to an "obsession" with their phones, they have it around, all of the time.
When Garner was asked if his phone was with him all of the time, he answered yes. He said, "I feel naked without it." He even sleeps with his phone.
Rebecca Simmons says she couldn't live without her phone. She has it with her always. When asked what she would do if she lost her phone, she said, "I'd have withdrawals, kinda like an addict."
This constant need may have one simple explanation. Whoolery said, "maybe it is way back in evolution or something, there is this desire to be in constant communication." He continued, "to be reachable and call somebody whenever you want, is such a convenience, it becomes an expectation."
Imari summed it up best, "your friend is in your pocket pretty much, you can reach them any time."
There are four distinct symptoms to diagnose a phone obsession as a mental illness.
Excessive Use - choosing the phone first, neglecting everything else.
Withdrawl - feeling depressed or anxious when you aren't with your phone.
Tolerance - not realizing the amount of time spent while using the technology.
Negative Repercussions - you miss out on life.
Whoolery explained the negative repercussions. He said, "you can't spend hours a day doing something which is not work or school and not have repercussions."
The problem doesn't end there. Whoolery said, "we're not accomplishing the goals we would if we were talking to someone ... they are not the same."
Researchers say, the ultimate solution to the problem is just to turn off your phone. For most that's not an option. Whatever it takes to wean away from the phone, even a little bit, will save you from a lot of stress.
