Going nomophobic

My adult son called me last weekend. He was down in the dumps. He had his mobile phone stolen at what he described as a "dodgy party" and he didn’t know what to do.

He didn’t really care about the phone – although it cost me a pretty packet – but he was upset about losing the phone numbers of people who have been his friends since middle school.

Like most mothers, I lectured him to stop the self-pity, buy a new phone, get a replacement chip and move on.

Well, yesterday I went to work without my mobile phone. I just forgot to pick it up as I was leaving the house. I got a flat tyre as I parked near the office. I reached for my phone in my handbag.

Panic instantly set in. Oh, my God! I suddenly felt all alone. I looked around in the parking lot and it was deserted. It took almost five long minutes of sitting still to get to terms with the fact that walking to the office and seeking help was a better alternative.

Well, in the afternoon I realised I had suffered from "no mobile phobia", the newly-coined stress-related condition that more than half the world suffers from.

No wonder then that in the UAE there are 166.4 mobile phones for every 100 people.

Many of these visionaries must have suffered nomophobia long before me and decided to ensure that they were connected every minute of every day by getting a second phone and backing up all their numbers.

Well, that’s one side of the story. The other side is that if you misplace or lose your phone, the stress levels of people who really love you also go through the roof because they cannot get in touch with you.

Reminds me of the last time I left my phone in a different handbag. My mother panicked at not being able to reach me. She panicked my husband, who forgot I was going out with friends and called the office, my colleagues and my other friends. He was going to file a missing persons report when I walked through the door. My mobile phone had at least 50 missed calls. I was embarrassed at the ruckus but, happily, I felt loved and missed.

Nirmala Janssen
Editor@alnisrmedia.com

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