Find out if you are addicted to your mobile phone

A few months ago in this blog we talked about a new psychological illness linked to mobile phones. It is called nomophobia, or the fear of not being 100% connected at any time of the day. Well, there is already a simple test which can help us detect if our mobile addiction is alarmingly dangerous and requires specific treatment.

Be that as it may, addicts or not, on average, we check our phone about 200 times a day. Few? Many? Let's say we can agree that it is a considerable amount.

Access to social networks, reading emails and messages are mainly our main source of income. daily reference source. However, there are those who, waiting for any news, need to access their phone even when they have not received any notification. These types of people are the most likely to suffer from nomophobia. For this reason, Iowa State University has set up a simple test 20 questions to detect the first symptoms of this disease.

The questions, which must be answered with scores from 1 to 7 depending on whether one totally disagrees with the statements (1) or whether one fully identifies with them (7), are the following:

• I feel uncomfortable if I do not have constant access to the Internet through my mobile phone.
• It bothers me that I want to search for information on my mobile device and I can't do it.
• Being unable to see the news (current events, weather, etc.) through my smartphone irritates me.
• It bothers me not being able to use my phone and its apps when I want to.
• I'm scared of the idea of my smartphone battery running out.
• I'm terrified of running out of credit on my monthly data plan.
• If I don't have an Internet connection (either via data or Wi-Fi) I constantly check to see if there is a signal nearby to connect to or try to find one.
• I worry about being stranded somewhere when my phone doesn't work.
• When I don't check my smartphone for a while, I feel the desire to check if I have any new notifications.
• If I don't have my smartphone with me I get anxious because I can't communicate instantly with my family and friends.
• If I don't have my smartphone with me, I worry that my family and friends won't be able to locate me.
• If I don't have my smartphone with me I get nervous because I can't receive messages or calls.
• If I don't have my smartphone with me I get nervous because I can't receive messages or calls.
• If I don't have my smartphone with me, I get worried thinking that someone has tried to contact me and couldn't.
• If I don't have my smartphone with me I get nervous because my constant connection with my family and friends is broken.
• If I don't have my smartphone with me, I get nervous because I can't show what I do on the Internet.
• If I don't have my smartphone with me I feel uncomfortable because I can't keep up with social media.
• If I don't have my smartphone with me I feel uncomfortable because I can't see notifications from my contacts.
• If I don't have my smartphone with me I feel uncomfortable because I can't check my email.
• I don't know what to do if I don't have my smartphone with me.

With the answers you have to add the scores given in each statement so that if the result is between the 20 and 60 points you suffer from a mild mobile addiction; if on the other hand you are among the 60 and 100 points, the degree of nomophobia is moderate; and if it exceeds the 100 points, the dependency is severe and it is recommended to see a specialist.

We hope that your score is in the first stage and that you can continue enjoying all the mobile content available to you with total freedom.