We can talk about psychological disorders specific to each historical period. One of the problems of today's people manifests itself through the mobile phone, one of the technological devices with which they have the most intense contact: Nomophobia ("no-mobile-phone phobia" in English). Panic or despair when separated from your mobile phone, not being able to focus on conversations around you or work, and constantly checking your mobile phone are among the main symptoms of nomophobia. The situation of frequently thinking that a mobile phone is ringing when it is not is called 'cell phone vibration syndrome', and experts agree that this may be a symptom of a much more serious technology addiction. 58% of smartphone users cannot spend more than 1 hour without checking their phones. This rate increases to 68% between the ages of 18-24. In Turkey, the rate of checking the phone within the first 15 minutes after waking up is 79%. We spend an average of 4.5 hours on the phone a day. According to TUIK, 53% of Turkey's population actively uses social media.
How do we become addicted?
The most commonly mentioned symptom of this disease is this feeling of loneliness and alienation brought by our age. We are now starting to exist in the virtual environment, not in the real environment. This is a really important thing. Our lives are not so happy anymore. We are not very close to nature. All of these can lead to nomophobia. As loneliness increases, the likelihood of nomophobia increases. Research says that a person's low self-esteem causes nomophobia. Inability to express oneself face to face in a real environment, shyness, all of these can cause nomophobia. But the most important thing we need to pay attention to is that we can access everything over the phone. This is actually a good thing, but it can also cause some problems. We talk on the phone, we share things on social media and see things over the phone. We follow the news from there, in short, we access information from there. And as the things a phone contains increases, the possibility of us becoming addicted to it naturally increases. At the same time, ease of access and portability make smartphones twice as addictive as their alternatives.
What harms does nomophobia have?
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Nomophobia; It can cause physical harm such as back pain, poor posture, carpal tunnel syndrome, headaches, visual disturbances and the long-term carcinogenic effects of radiation. At the same time, smartphone addiction has been associated with anxiety, loneliness and depression. However, parents' constant attention to their smart devices during the time periods that should be spent together causes children to feel ignored. There are studies showing that parents who cannot give up their phones are impatient and aggressive towards their children and often scold them when they have to give up their phones.
How can we get rid of nomophobia?
Turning off notifications and using applications that show the time spent. It has been shown that methods such as reducing and deleting applications, determining phone-free times (WC, driving, meeting, playing with children, time spent with spouse, etc.), not bringing phones to the dinner table and bedroom, and limiting phone checking behavior are effective in dealing with this addiction
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