Beware: You Might Have "Nomophobia"

If you cannot leave the house without your phone, if the first thing that comes to your mind as soon as you wake up in the morning is checking your phone and your social media accounts, if you try to sleep while holding your phone tightly at night but experience sleepless nights because of the constant desire to be online, if you feel the urge to check social media even in social environments, if the comments and likes you receive affect your mood, and if not having internet access or restrictions on access to social media platforms, as we experienced in recent weeks, has become unbearable for you, you may be showing signs of social media addiction and nomophobia.

Today, we came together with our valuable Clinical Psychologist Yağmur Akbulut to talk about social media addiction and nomophobia.

How Do The Symptoms Of Social Media Addiction Show Themselves In Daily Life?

In this article, I would like to talk about the place of habits and addictions, which go one step beyond habits, in our lives. Especially during periods when access to social media platforms is restricted, a physical and psychological state of not feeling well can be observed in many of us. Apart from anxiety, unhappiness and worry, we may feel as if we do not know what to do with ourselves.

Starting the day unhappily after remembering the absence of social media in the morning, postponing holidays, gym visits or social plans by thinking “I will not be able to share it anyway,” and having arguments even in friend gatherings because of phones and social media are among the examples of how this process can reflect on daily life.

Maybe we experienced moments when we truly had a conversation without a phone in our hands for the first time. We even noticed moments when we focused on each other’s face, eyes and conversation with jokes such as “My husband is handsome” or “My wife is beautiful.” The power of habits and addictions may lie underneath all of this. We all suddenly felt as if we were exposed.

So, what is social media addiction?

What Is Social Media Addiction?

Yağmur Akbulut:

Making the diagnosis is an important point. We divide people into two groups: social media users and social media addicts. In this distinction, we especially focus on functionality.

An addicted person may disrupt their daily routines. They may move away from areas of life such as work, school and social life and begin to neglect their relationships. The time spent on social networks exceeds a healthy balance.

Of course, not every social media user or every person who enjoys being on these platforms is addicted. If we are going to focus on addiction and make such an evaluation, we pay attention to certain points.

What Are The Symptoms Of Social Media Addiction?

Yağmur Akbulut:

If you have devoted yourself to social media platforms, in other words, if you eat, drink, travel, have fun and take care of yourself in order to show your presence on these platforms; if you do all of these not as a natural part of social life but as a requirement of social media, you should be careful.

The symptoms of social media addiction may appear in daily life in the following ways:

• The first thing done after waking up in the morning is checking social networks on the phone.
• Waking up frequently at night and checking social media accounts with the thought of “I wonder what happened?”
• Social media use reaching an obsessive level.
• Starting to believe that the identity shown on social media is the real identity.
• Comments and likes received carrying the person to extreme emotional points, either positively or negatively.
• Giving up social life and real life in order to remain active on social media.
• Avoiding face-to-face relationships.
• Giving more importance to digital interactions than real social relationships.

If these symptoms significantly affect a person’s daily life, relationships, functionality and mood, it may be possible to talk about social media addiction.

Which Psychological Problems Can Social Media Addiction Cause?

Yağmur Akbulut:

Actually, social media addiction can sometimes be a result. Let me explain it this way: Social media platforms can sometimes be the place where existing psychological disorders in a person show themselves.

For example, the person may already be experiencing an obsession problem. The person may already be experiencing a problem with socialization or isolation. The place where this is shown may be a social media platform. In other words, you may become addicted to social media as a result of underlying causes.

Social media addiction may be associated with the following psychological problems in some cases:

• Anxiety.
• Unhappiness.
• Worry.
• Anger.
• Feelings of inadequacy.
• Distractibility.
• Difficulty focusing.
• Moving away from real relationships.
• Social isolation.
• Obsessive checking behaviors.

It is important to uncover the main underlying causes. Social media addiction can sometimes be the area where the psychological difficulty experienced by the person becomes visible. Sometimes, as a result of long-term and uncontrolled use, the person’s mood, relationships and daily life order may be negatively affected.

Is Social Media Addiction A Treatable Condition?

So, is social media addiction a treatable condition? What can we do to overcome this addiction?

Yağmur Akbulut:

As the Happ Health family, we provide online psychological counseling services. In order to reduce the power of these addictions, you can receive counseling support at home, at work or in an environment that is suitable for you.

Before calling our client addicted, we conduct certain tests. We go deeper into their life and try to get to know them well. We evaluate the frequency and way they use these platforms. We look at how much the time spent on social networks disrupts the functionality of their life.

After that, we draw a roadmap together with our client. We help the person turn toward their real social life, relationships, face-to-face communication dynamics and hobbies.

Can Social Media Addiction Be Overcome?

So this is a condition we can overcome?

Yağmur Akbulut:

Of course. Like every addiction. First of all, the person needs to want to get out of the situation they are in. As long as they want it, we are already there for our client in every way and help them resolve the addiction point.

For people experiencing symptoms of social media addiction and nomophobia, the first step is awareness. When a person realizes that social media use affects their daily life, relationships, sleep pattern, functionality and mood, receiving professional support can make the process healthier.

Get Online Psychologist Support With Happ Health

If you experience intense anxiety when you are away from your phone, have difficulty managing the urge to check your social media accounts, or think that your digital habits are affecting your daily life, you can receive online psychologist support through Happ Health.

With Happ Health’s online psychological counseling service, you can access expert support at home, at work or in any environment where you feel comfortable. You can evaluate the difficulties you experience related to social media addiction, nomophobia, anxiety, feelings of inadequacy, difficulty focusing and digital habits with a specialist, and create a roadmap suitable for you.

If you would like to watch the video version of our interview, we welcome you to the Happ Health YouTube channel.