Thursday, August 25, 2011

Cell Phones- The Addiction of the Y-Generation




Does your hand pain every time you switch off your cell phone? Do you feel uncomfortable when your cell phone is not with you? Do you irate out, every time you go out of network coverage, even for a short while? Do you feel your pocket often to check whether your phone is vibrating when it is actually not? Do you hear the ring tone of your mobile phone in every two seconds or in an consistent interval of time, when it is switched off or in silent mode?





If the answers for the above questions are yes, then there are chances that you are probably suffering from Nomophobia (a psychological disorder related to cell phone contact) and Ringxiety (another disorder related to cell phone hearing). Due to the excessive use of cell phones these new psychological disorders have come up among the youngsters especially teenagers on a large scale and have been affecting their subconscious minds very badly, the doctors say.
According to psychiatrists and otolaryngologists (Ear, Nose and Throat Specialists), at least 25% of youngsters, who are excessive mobile users, might be hearing false rings or uneasy feeling without mobile. However, no particular survey and study have been done on the occurrence of these two psychological disorders among young generation. But the rising case of these disorders clearly indicate that young generation are being the worst victims of these disorder related to their cell phone.
"Every time during lecture in my college we have to put our cell phones to silent mode. The silent mode of phones makes very uncomfortable not knowing if I am getting text or call. So I have learnt typing messages without even looking at the screen. Now I stay connected without my lecturers noticing it". says one of a student of 3rd year Computer Science Engineering student.
"Every few seconds I hear the ring tone of my mobile phone, even if it is in silent mode. The situation becomes very traumatic when others' mobile ring, which is totally different from my ring tone, I react" says an Dental student.
Losing his cell phone was a disturbing experience for Chartered Accountant (CA) aspirant. "I was shocked. not because it has all my contact numbers but more so because I would not be able to talk to my friends until I got a new cell phone. It was then I realized how big a part my mobile phone played in my life" he remembered.



For several youngsters, low battery on cell phones can also be a shocking experience. "Whenever my cell phones signals low battery, I call up all my friends so that they are not tensed to find my mobile switched off or not responding. Meanwhile, to ensure that something like this does not happen, I usually carry the chargers everywhere either in college or in tuition classes." said a Pharmacy student.
According to renowned psychologist Dr. Sanjay Bhardwaj, large number of cell phone user youths agreed in his clinic that they felt distracted every time they had their cell phones in front of them with their eyes going to the phone's screen every few seconds and they want to write messages, call and play games on it.
Several youths also claimed that they have heard the cell phone or message ring when it did not happen. Dependency on too much of cell phones causes these types of disorders amongst youths", he added.
Over dependency on gadgets have more drawbacks than advantages. Earlier, our young generation used to make of their brain more and more active by remembering phone numbers of close ones of for performing simple, everyday chores. Today thanks to the cell phones, our youngsters do not remember their dear ones' phones numbers and birthdays or any other special days. Currently these birthdays are in initial stage but if we do not think about it, then in coming years it will come out as one of the serious mental problems amid youngsters" stated Dr. Pramod Gupta, an eminent psychiatrist.



"For the last few months, lots of young patients have arrived in my clinic complaining that they hear mobile ring tone all the time. I use to advise them simply avoid more use of mobile phones otherwise it will affect their hearing capabilities", said Dr Girish Tamrakar, Otolaryngologist.
So what is the solution? "Our brain contains all the software needed to survive such panic attacks. One should re-orient himself and recover the confidence that life without cell phones is not impossible" pointed Dr. Dev Sikdar, psychiatrist.


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