Thanks for the nomophobia email, it will be in my next quiz!!! Pat Walsh.
From: fb-exchange-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <fb-exchange-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On
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Sent: Monday, October 30, 2023 6:54 PM
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Subject: [fb-exchange] Do you have a healthy relationship with your phone?
If youre filled with terror at the prospect of being without your phone,
youre not alone.
A new poll in Britain has found that 42% of adults identify with
nomophobia the fear of being stuck without mobile phone connectivity.
According to psychologist Dr Linda Papadopoulos, nomophobia is firstly about
"dependency", and secondly about "slight catastrophising".
She said: "The key to having a healthier relationship with your phone is
implementing values, boundaries and being self-aware when it comes to how we
use our phones."
Of the 2,000 people surveyed by Sky Mobile, 23% said they would rather hold
a tarantula, 14% said they would prefer to go swimming with sharks, and 15%
said sleeping in a haunted house would be better than being without 5G for
an entire week.
Heres what you need to know about phone addiction and how it might be
impacting our wellbeing
How can we spot the signs of nomophobia or phone addiction?
According to Papadopoulos, its quite simple.
"If youre engaging and constantly checking to see where your phone is or if
youve missed a call, [and are] worried, anxious about the possibility of
missing out" whether this is a social event or something work-related
you could have nomophobia, Papadopoulos suggested.
"Were at our most peaceful when we feel like we have control over
something."
She encourages you to think about the first thing you look for when you wake
up or walk out the door if its your phone, it could be a sign of
nomophobia.
"Theres also this thing where we think our phone is vibrating, and its
not. Thats another sign too."
Has social media made it worse?
Its important to understand what our phones are to us.
"Theyre no longer just phones, right? They are these digital prostheses,
which we use to do everything from learn to work to connect," said
Papadopoulos.
"In the case of things like social media, we know that a big part of our
desire to be on those apps is around that sense of not just belonging
which obviously they were originally intended for but also that sense of
missing out.
"So I think anything that you do, which relates to who you are, your
expectations around your work, your personal life, are all going to feed
into this."
How might it be impacting our wellbeing?
"It all depends on what we are doing with our phones. If Im sitting down
doom scrolling, of course it will affect how Im feeling. Thats not great,"
she suggested.
"You want to own your technology instead of your technology owning you.
Dont catastrophise your mobile phones, because there are other things you
can do to remain connected and it can lead to technology separation anxiety
the disproportionate sense of fear of being without your technology.
"When you are talking about any sort of addiction, if it gets in the way of
your day-to-day life, you start having disproportionate reactions, struggle
to engage with people in real life, your sleeping pattern is non-existent or
not eating your dinner, those are the sorts of things you should look out
for when it comes to nomophobia.
"For example, if a 12-year-old girl is posting a bunch of things on social
media and sitting at her phone waiting for likes, that would be a sign of
her phone affecting her mental health."
But there are also positives to mobile phones, Papadopoulos adds.
"I live really far away from my family. Sometimes I even cook with my mum,
even though she lives in Cyprus," she said.
How can we start to address it if we think we have a problem?
"Do basic things like keeping your phone in the same place to avoid using
brain power constantly looking for where it is," Papadopoulos advised.
"And dont vilify or deify your mobile phone. Its neither the best thing in
your life or the worst. This will help you start to get a sense of control
over those anxious thoughts."
If youre concerned that your behaviour might be addictive, see your GP for
help.
RTÉ LifeStyle.
