Generation Y Addiction

Do you feel uneasy without your phone? Do you feel uncomfortable when your phone is no longer in network? Do you check your phone to see if it’s vibrating when it’s not? Does it bother you to turn your phone off or on silent?

If you answer yes to the above questions then you may be suffering from Nomophobia- the fear of being out of mobile phone contact. The term is an abbreviation for “no-mobile-phone-phobia.” It’s the plague of the 24/7 online Y-Generation. Your usual stresses such as getting married, going to the dentist, or searching for a job is no longer a source of stress, instead, being out of reach of your phone is. This generation of people are living in fear of being out of mobile contact. They have been so dependent on their mobile, that discovering that it is dying or misplaced sends stress levels soaring. Due to the rise of cellphone usage, psychological disorders have come up amongst the younger generation. It’s even said that students are losing their hearing or hearing false rings due to the high cellphone usage.

I know for one of my classes, my professor suggest that we turn our phone off or switch to silent mode. Honestly, the silent mode makes people uncomfortable NOT knowing if they are receiving a phone call, text message, or e-mail. Even if a ring were to go off, students would look at their phone to see if it was their phone receiving the incoming notification. Is it addiction that has this generation on edge? How long can you go without checking your phone?

Check this interesting chart out:

Not using your phone is one thing but imagine losing your phone! Just the thought of it drives me crazy, how about you? I know when my close friend lost her phone she simply stated, “Oh my god, I lost everything, my phone is my life”. Now that statement is so sad yet so true nowadays.  That’s the moment you realize how big of a role your phone plays in your life. Without it, you feel so removed from the world. With it, you feel so connected.

But, to avoid feeling that void in your life, you might want to walk around with your charger handy. If you were to ask any FDU student if they're carrying their charger, I bet it’s a high chance they’d say yes! This might even be a great question for the survey I plan to conduct later in the semester. Anywho, having a low battery can also be a shocking experience for some. I know some of my friends may post on Facebook or Twitter from their laptop or tablet, “Don’t worry if I don’t answer, my phone is dead/off”.  This is to notify friends to not get tense over the not so immediate response.

I think it’s safe to say that our dependency on technology has more downfalls than advantages. The Y-Generation uses their phones to remember loved ones phone numbers rather than memorizing it as the old days. They even forget about birthdays and anniversaries because they depend on their phone to remind them. Back then, people genuinely remembered numbers and special dates.