Mobile Phones And Phobias

by Marie Vonow (follow)

Fear (53)      Phobia (12)      Mobile Phone (4)      Nomophobia (2)     

I find it ironic that many inventions which are supposed to save us time or make life easier often do the opposite. A case in point is that wonderful convenience, the mobile phone. With one of these tucked away in your pocket, bag or next to the bed you can be contacted 24/7. You can also do the contacting and these days can access the internet.

Instead of feeling more relaxed because we can be contacted, we often feel more stressed. We get phoned at inconvenient times. Sometimes we can't hear properly and have to move to another spot in an attempt to get a better reception. At times we lose contact mid call or have no reception at all. Perhaps we forget to put our mobile on silent and it rings at an embarrassing moment. Maybe we forget to take it off silent and miss an important call. Perhaps we just fear these things will happen.

Mobile phones can be the source of various phobias. Nomophobia is an intense fear of not being able to use one's mobile phone for some reason. Most people who frequently use a mobile are familiar with that feeling of unease which accompanies the realisation one has left it behind. Some people experience panic attack type symptoms.

When I became interested/intrigued by phobias connected to the use of mobile phones I did some internet research (of course). I should mention at this point that textophobia is the fear of certain fabrics and textures and has no connection with mobile phones.

Methylchloroisothiazoline is a preservative with antibacterial and anti fungal properties. However,
methylchloroisothiazolinonephobia is the fear of texting or being the first to text. Who would have guessed that? This phobia has been studied by Dr Lambert D Mulaski of Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

I came across some terms which may actually be jokes, rather than medically recognised terms. However, even if some of them are considered a joke at this point in time, I expect they will become accepted as real phobias in the future as people become even more dependent on their mobile phones and devices. Perhaps these conditions will just be given different names when they become official.

The following fall into the above category-

There are more mobile related phobias to be found on the internet.

The mobile phone is a useful item but it is important to avoid becoming obsessed with its use. Sometimes it is a good idea to separate yourself from it for a while.


# Fear
# Mobile Phone
# Nomophobia
# Phobia

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