Pandemic may worsen ‘nomophobia’ among Pinoys, expert says

Filipinos' “nomophobia” (no mobile phone phobia), the fear of being away from one’s mobile device, may be exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, an expert said Tuesday.

According to Atom Araullo’s “State of the Nation” special report, a study by the Australia-based University of Monash found that 99% of nearly 3,000 respondents said they experienced nomophobia.

Among the respondents, 48.7% said they experienced moderate nomophobia while 13.2% said they experienced a severe form of the phobia.

Nomophobia was also found to be highest among those aged 18-25.

Clinical psychologist Richthofen De Jesus said the phobia may lead to feelings of frustration, anxiety, and even depression.

“‘Pag kunyaring hindi mo siya hawak o hindi mo siya nagagamit, pakiramdam mo ay nagiging disconnected to the point na hindi kumpleto ang buhay mo at ‘yun ang nakaka-devastate sa tao,” he explained.

US firm We Are Social previously reported that 70 million Filipinos have Facebook accounts, 97.8% of whom access the social networking platform through its mobile app.

Last year, the Philippines also topped the list of countries with the highest number of internet and social media users, with the average Filipino spending 9.5 hours online each day.

De Jesus said the quarantine restrictions enforced due to the pandemic may help heighten nomophobia among Filipinos.

“Medyo marami tayong available na risk factors kasi sa buhay ng Pilipino ngayon, nagiging napakaimportanteng bagay na o parte ng buhay na ang cellphone, lalo na ngayong pandemic, hindi tayo lumalabas ng ating tahanan, so lalo siyang mas naging vital,” he said.

However, De Jesus also warned against immediately assuming that a certain individual has nomophobia, stressing that smartphones have become part of modern life.

“You only use it if there is a certain need that arises from it,” he said.

In 2019, a bill was introduced in Italy addressing nomophobia among children. —Julia Mari Ornedo/LDF, GMA News