According to a 2021 Australian study, 99.2% of smartphone users have symptoms of nomophobia. This term comes from the English “no mobile phobia”, which refers to the fear of being separated from this small screen. What does nomophobia actually look like?

This can be characterized by strange behaviors, for example constantly moving around with the charger so as to never run out of battery or feeling anxious about finding yourself in a place where the Internet does not work. Because the main culprit behind this fear of missing out, the reason for our attachment to our digital tools, is indeed the Internet!

THE ARRIVAL OF THE INTERNET

The ease with which we connect online today almost makes us forget how long it took to achieve so much innovation and immediacy! Let's take a quick leap into history:

It's the 1970s and 1980s and people are dancing, without taking selfies. They're laughing and chatting, without technological interruption, while listening to Bob Marley. Computers have already appeared, but they're currently reserved for the world of work.

In 1989, Tim Berners-Lee, a British computer scientist, invented the World Wide Web to connect researchers from all over the world and allow them to exchange information instantly. Then everything happened very quickly, the first search engines appeared in order to help Internet users find information on web pages that continued to multiply! In the 90s, email became popular.

In 2003, the first social networks emerged with the promise of connecting us to the entire world.

BEFORE / AFTER

But another invention will be decisive in creating the hyperconnected world that we know today. We owe it to the Apple company, which introduced the smartphone for the first time in 2007. This tool with a touch interface that combines a phone, camera and applications like a mini mobile computer, will come to revolutionize our lives in its entirety. Thanks to it, we are reachable at all times and have access to the planet 24/24 and 7/7, no matter where we are.

The smartphone is now the most used tool to browse the Internet. Since the arrival of notifications in 2009, we are able to be alerted in real time by a message from a friend, a professional email or even a software update! This small screen has become our diary, our navigation system, our notepad, our entertainment tool, our watch, our weather forecaster, our means of communicating in writing and orally... for our personal and professional lives. And more!

Being separated from them, even for a few minutes, has become anxiety-provoking for a large part of the population.

HYPERCONNECTED WORLD

I have a confession to make: I suffered from nomophobia for several years. I was the ultimate hyperconnected person, who excessively and compulsively connected to the Internet. I felt a need to always be available for others, to immediately read a message or a work email as soon as a notification appeared on my phone, even if it was a Saturday night in the middle of a family gathering.

Seeing my phone running out of battery or a weak Wi-Fi signal could make me break out in a cold sweat! I actually came close to exhaustion.

Each individual has created a particular relationship with these time-consuming machines, which can have negative repercussions for our mental, physical and relational health, but also for our productivity and time management. Although their role is central in improving our lifestyle and our work, some of their features have created a culture of instantaneity and a sense of false urgency that are sometimes unhealthy.

Digital silence and resting our brains have become a real luxury!

Our entire life is designed around these innovative gadgets that connect us to others and seek to stimulate us constantly. Our attention span is decreasing every year in the face of this daily bombardment of information. The present moment is a challenge in the face of all these distractions.

Here are some ideas to help you start thinking about your use of technology, which takes up more than 42% of our waking hours:

1. What are the digital tools that you use most on a daily basis and for what purpose? (phone, tablet, computer, smartwatch, etc.)

2. What is your digital consumption? (personal and professional screen time) Do you control your time on the web from A to Z?

3. How do you feel (fatigue, physical pain, concentration level)? When was the last time you disconnected from your digital device?

4. What do you get out of your online hours? Try to think about the positive and negative aspects. What would you like to improve? (work / communicate with my friends / read the news)

5. How do you feel when your digital tools are inaccessible or you don't have access to the Internet? (serenity, anxiety, fear of missing out)

Understanding our relationship with technology is the first step to being able to establish healthy digital habits and allow ourselves periods of disconnection with peace of mind. Digital disconnection has been a trendy topic on the Linkedin social network during the summer season and I regret that we talk very little about it the rest of the year!

Read this as an invitation for next month: in my second column, I will share with you the different types of disconnection to put on your agenda regularly.