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Are we nomophobes?

Are we nomophobes?

Smartphones have become an integral part of our lives. Scientists have even coined the term "nomophobia" (no-mobile-phone phobia) to describe the fear of losing the possibility to use a smartphone.

The importance of these handheld devices became all the more apparent after a recent study commissioned by Motorola. According to that study, 54% of smartphone users would sooner save their phone than their cat in case of fire. Over 20% of the interviewees stated that given the choice, they would rather give up sex than smartphone for a weekend.

"Heroine addicts are addicted to heroine, not syringes and needles," explained Patryk Podleśny, a PhD student at the JU Institute of Psychology. "Smartphone is just a device. We shouldn't talk about addiction to smartphones, but to social media, entertainment and news – all accessed via our mobile phones." The psychologist points out that the fifth edition of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder (DSM 5) published by the American Psychiatric Association does not recognise addition to smartphones or tablets. Negative phenomena related to these devices, such as frequently refreshing an application or looking at the screen, are classified as compulsive behaviour. In these cases, what matters is not the frequency, but the reason. "If someone does some things to influence their mood, i.e. lower their level of anxiety or loneliness by looking at the phone's screen, we can talk about compulsive behaviour or obsession. Every person does this to a certain extent, but the problem arises when our state of mind becomes too dependent on external factors. Mobile phones are particularly dangerous, since we can always have one with us," Patryk Podleśny explained. Another danger is the fact that social bonds become more shallow because of the constant use of the Internet. Social media only give the illusion of human contact and cannot replace it entirely.

Smartkids, smartparents, smartphones?

Every time when a new technology is introduced to the public, there is a debate on its impact on children. This was true for television, personal computers and the Internet. The same debate is introduced yet again in the context of smartphones and tablets. "The problem is: parents often use these devices so that they don't have to take care of their children. In the past, moms and dads turned on the TV to get five minutes for themselves, and now they do the same with phones and tablets," Patryk Podleśny said. The psychologist also stresses the fact that children mimic the behaviour of their parents – if the grown ups are inseparable from their devices, so will they.

Children are very quick to learn and use new technologies. However, according to a recent report by Educational Research Institute, 30% of young students were not able to recall the receiver of an e-mail despite seeing its headline. The children were shown a screenshot with an e-mail addressed to them and two other people; their task was to recall those two names afterwards – 30% could not do it. "This may  mean that kids can't use new technologies thoughtfully. But it is difficult to say if it pertains to other areas of life," Patryk Podleśny commented. This is why it is important for Polish schools to educate students about mobile technologies, particularly information source credibility assessment. "Information technology is a tool like any other. We should teach our children how to use it properly. If we give our kids a hammer and don't teach them how to build things, we shouldn't be surprised if they start hitting each other instead of driving in nails. The greatest danger of smartphones is that they teach us to constantly crave new information, which prevents us from performing a deeper analysis of problems. Ultimately, we may find ourselves in a world in which people have a very shallow views, and decisions are based on simple and often emotional reasons," Patryk Podleśny said.

Original text: www.nauka.uj.edu.pl

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