Have you heard of nomophoia?

Posted 5/12/22

If there is one thing we don’t need here in the U.S. it’s another disease. Just when I thought we were maybe putting...

You must be a member to read this story.

Join our family of readers for as little as $5 per month and support local, unbiased journalism.


Already have an account? Log in to continue. Otherwise, follow the link below to join.

Please log in to continue

Log in
I am anchor

Have you heard of nomophoia?

Posted

If there is one thing we don’t need here in the U.S. it’s another disease. Just when I thought we were maybe putting covid on the back burner so to speak, another new debilitating disease has risen among us. And it’s called Nomophobia.

According to an article I read in the paper, Nomophobia (short for no-mobile-phone-phobia) is a new word for the anxiety caused by not having a working mobile phone on your person-hood. It said that people are developing a psychosis or something similar and a whole bunch of brainy-headed people are trying to find a cure. (I can think of one obvious cure, but I digress.)

Apparently overuse of phones among students is causing a drop in GPA averages and increased anxiety over whether or not they are in constant contact with about ½ of the population of the free world at any time.

And as I wander around this planet or at least these United States, I am noticing more and more people using and misusing their cell phone. Just a few examples.

On the way to the shower the other day, (I winter in a retirement community in Florida and they have something for everyone called comfort stations) I walked by a guy who was sitting in a toilet stall, doing his business, happily chatting away on the phone. I had to chuckle to myself, I wonder if the person on the other end of that call had any idea about what was taking place. Talk about having two different “conversations” going at once!

And sometimes the new technology can meet with the old technology in some pretty violent ways. I actually saw a guy walking down the sidewalk the other day intently texting. And sure enough he walked right into a telephone pole. Life can bite you in the badookie sometimes.

I wonder how many people have fallen to their death trying to take a selfie of themselves with the Grand Canyon in the background or maybe backing up to the gorilla cage with their cell phone in hand.

I had a simple procedure done the other day at a walk-in hobble out clinic, I think they call it day surgery. Anyway, I swear this is true, the nurse that pushed me down the hallway had her cell phone in her hand happily tapping away. I think I would have drawn a line in the sand had the doctor done the same.

If you want to see something amazing some day, watch a younger person tap out a message on their phone using only their thumbs. I am sure they are faster than many traditional typists on traditional keyboards. I’ll bet they will consider a thumb typing competition of some kind at the next Olympics.

My wife and I tend to travel a bit and spend a lot of time on our nation’s wonderful freeway system. Cruising along at 65 mph the other day, I had a young lady pass me in the fast lane doing at least 80 and, you guessed it, she was texting away.

LIfe can be so funny at times. The other day at a fancy restaurant I saw a family of four seated at a table, and they were all texting on their phones. I wonder if any of them were texting the other?

Sometimes when we have people over for dinner or cards, someone at the table will be (impolitely) texting to someone. I alway think in the back of my mind if the texter would rather be with that person as opposed to me? And if they went to see that person, would they be texting me?

Psychologists tell us that this phonophobia shares many characteristics with drug addiction. And the connection of mobile phones to the Internet is one of the causes of an uptick in this condition. They are telling us that the symptoms may be the result of a need for comfort due to factors such as increased anxiety, poor self-esteem, insecure attachment, or emotional instability. Youzer and I thought a hangnail was bad!

A couple of friends of mine came up with a cure of sorts. Whenever they have people over, there is a big basket just inside the front door with a sign that says. Please place your phone here. It usually only takes 5 to 10 minutes till people’s hands start shaking, sweat appears and they start pleading for the fix that is their phones.

There may just be a few more phobias on the horizon but I am not sure. But I am sure that Arrraphobia is fear of pirates, doggiedookieaphobia is fear of your dog doing his business and you not having a plastic bag handy and finally humoraphobia which is my fear that someone will not find this column funny.

phones, phone, cellphone, internet

Comments

x