Dr Nishant A.Irudayadason
Professor of Philosophy and Ethics, Jnana-Deepa Vidyapeeth, Pune.

Modern technologies are an integral part of our life in this fast-moving society. Young people, born in the early or mid-2000s, know how to handle smartphones better than any adult, in their use of Facebook, tweet, Snapchat, and Instagram. A smartphone doesn’t just serve as a mobile matrix for a phone. It is also, as we know well, a camera, a selfie factory, porn food, a video camera, support for online or offline video games, support for thousands of applications connected to the Internet, and support for social networks. It allows real-time communication, and reassurance to check everything by the second! It facilitates the maintenance of symbolic proximity in immediate response to any solicitation. Who doesn’t love that?
There is an overuse of the smartphone that has become a more than popular tool for people of all ages, from 7 to 77 years old. We take it out in the queue of the supermarket, in meetings when we are bored, during a class, or at the set of lights while driving a car. We fall asleep with it; we wake up with it. It accompanies insomnia. Spending some time on smartphones in the evening before falling asleep impairs sleep. It seems that some coloured diodes interact with the circadian rhythm. The notion of vibrations and phantom rings is known and can be pathological for some.
One of the addictive behaviours related to mobile phone use now has a name, nomophobia (cell phone addiction). Nomophobia is an emerging phenomenon, which could have adverse consequences on health. It is defined as the fear or worry experienced by a person at the idea of being without their mobile phone or unable to use it. A phenomenon that has been developing for several years, nomophobia mainly affects young people, who spend several hours a day on their smartphones. Nomophobia has several characteristics in common with addictions, marked by real anxiety or anxiety in people deprived of their mobile phones. Nomophobia is also associated with the anxiety of being disconnected or Fear of Missing out (FoMO) chats, virtual moments, Facebook statuses, and tweets that are an opportunity to interact socially and quickly. Nomophobia is not an incurable disease but it is a hyperconnected lifestyle that may not be suitable for everyone and can become pathological
Smartphone addiction is a technological, behavioural, drug-free addiction. The technological aspect presupposes an interaction between a human and a machine. It is a behaviour that repeats itself, with a loss of control, an irrepressible urge to consume virtual or interactional reality, and a continuation of the behaviour despite the knowledge of potential negative consequences that will be physical, psychological and social. There is a component called “cyber-relationships” with smartphones where subjects think that their virtual relationships are stronger than relationships in real life, that there is more intimacy in the virtual and that they can no longer do without this kind of relationship.
The addictive use of smartphones also has many consequences. Those addicted to smartphones continue to use them despite the knowledge of these negative consequences. On the physical level, are described vision disorders (small floating light spots for example), wrist pain due to constantly tapping on the phone or holding it in a certain position, and neck pain due to the position adapted to reading and writing on smartphones. On the psychic level, anxiety, depressive signs, and sleep disorders are also commonplace. There are concentration disorders that have an impact on daily life in terms of performance at school or at work. On the social level, many fundamental things of everyday life are altered such as spending time with family and enjoying family vacation time without being glued to a smartphone like an addict in need. There is also a significant risk of road accidents.
During the season of Lent, in the modern age, it may be important to abstain from the overuse of smartphones. Some helpful practices of abstinence include setting rules such as not using smartphones when we are with family, in meetings, conferences, classes or when driving; avoiding adorning the table with the smartphone during meals with family and friends; and not checking messages in the smartphone while conversing with someone. Hope such practices of abstinence during this Lent may help us recover gradually from nomophobia.