Nomophobia

 NOMOPHOBIA?

by Gilberto Hernández Quirós, Ph.D.

As a language professor and linguist, I am passionate about neologisms such as nomophobia or in Spanish as nomofobia.  My brain immediately started searching calques and language stems and roots to be able to understand the meaning of this new word.  Initially, I did not succeed in accurately understanding its definition or the way the word had been coined.

As a matter of fact, I was immediately prompted and challenged to investigate and satisfy my need and curiosity to learn the meaning of a new word and, if possible, incorporate it into my lexicon.   Even better be able to teach it to my students and colleagues. 

Nomophobia refers to an intense, irrational fear of being out of mobile phone contact.  I am certain most of us have gone through that horrific experience of feeling empty, unplugged, and incomplete not having the smart phone or having its battery empty.
  
No-mo(bile)-phobia is a specific phobia which entails, according to Bianchi and Phillips (2005) psychological factors involved in the overuse of a mobile phone.  Indeed, I have witnessed other people literally losing self-control when their smart phone is missing.  The latter also leads people to feel depressed or lost.  It becomes an issue!   By the way, he word was coined in the UK after a survey to learn people's reaction to losing their phone.  

Nomophobia is the biggest threat to users with low self-esteem or for those who constantly look for reassurance on social media.  It is likewise a threat for those of us who use the phone on a daily basis for business, research and education.  I myself have experienced nomophobic symptoms previously when my phone once disappeared in a class of teenagers who told me I panicked.  The soul came back to my body when I realized the phone was being charged at at electrical outlet in the back of the classroom.  I had forgotten I had put it there!

It is a fact that technology has changed our ways of seeing and living life. Technology has indeed brought positive and negative changes and different kinds of phobias have emerged.   We have from technophilic to technophobic users as much as there are users addicted to certain gadgets in what we call modern life.  Nevertheless, it is a paradox of technology as it can be both freeing and enslaving.  My question is whether you consider yourself to be nomophobic or not?   Just think what your reaction would be if your phone disappeared.