Nomophobia and Social Anxiety: Defined

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and protect themselves and also reduce conflict and symptoms of anxiety. Furthermore, portable technology such as mobile phones and tablets make such individuals feel safer, more confident and less anxious by allowing a distraction. Nomophobic behavior can reinforce social anxiety tendencies as a method of reducing stress generated by social situations. (Hussung, 2015)

Trend Findings

In the King et al (2013) journal, it was concluded that “Nomophobic behavior produces changes in daily habits and can reveal other aspects to be investigated, such as the presence of comorbid mental disorders”. King et al (2013) findings were further confirmed by the article written by Billeux et al (2015) that states research found an increased level of anxiety associated with mobile phone use and proneness to send a large number of text messages. The same types of association were also found in clinical case studies of panic disorder and socially phobic patients. It therefore appears that addiction-like symptoms can be the consequence of a need for reassurance promoted by factors such as increased anxiety.

The aforementioned findings combined with the general information found on the websites that I have cited confirmed that nomophobia is indeed more prominent in individuals with former anxiety and panic disorder. Furthermore, nomophobia does not necessarily cause anxiety and panic disorders, rather these disorders provide a predisposition for addiction and phobia.

Conclusion

In summary, I have used five sources to determine if nomophobia contributes to social anxiety or if it is manifested by a social anxiety disorder already posed by the individual. Together the sources from publications, articles, and web based journals demonstrated alike trends. I was able to conclude that mental disorders such as anxiety and social phobia can predispose individuals to addictive behavior such as nomophobia.