NOMOPHOBIA

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2141169/The-biggest-phobia-world-Nomophobia--fear-mobile--affects-66-cent-us.html

NOMOPHOBIA

Curing Students of Nomophobia

Do you know this word? Nomophobia is a term describing a growing fear in today's world -- the fear of being without a mobile device, or beyond mobile phone contact. Among today's high school and college students, it's on the rise (va en aumento):

· An increasing number of college students now shower with their cell phone. 

· The average adolescent would rather lose a pinky-finger (meñique) than a cell phone. 

· A growing percentage text or tweet instead of actually talking to others. 

Nomophobia is everywhere in industrialized nations. The term is an abbreviation for "no-mobile-phone phobia," which was coined (acuñado) during a 2010 study by the UK Post Office. The study found that nearly (almost- casi) 53 percent of mobile phone users in Britain tend to be anxious when they "lose their mobile phone, run out of (agotar, quedarse sin) battery or credit, or have no network coverage (cobertura) ." 

The study found that about 58 percent of men and 47 percent of women suffer from the phobia, and an additional 9 percent feel stressed when their mobile phones are off. The study sampled (muestrear hacer la prueba con) 2,163 people. Fifty-five percent of those surveyed (enquestados) cited keeping in touch (mantener el contacto) with friends or family as the main reason that they got anxious when they could not use their mobile phones. The study compared stress levels induced by the average case of nomophobia to be on par (estar a la par) with those of "wedding day jitters"(nervios, nerviosismo) and trips to the dentists. 

In the U.S., it's gotten worse... 

· Sixty-five percent, or about two in three people, sleep with or next to their smart phones. (Among college students, it's even higher). 

· Thirty-four percent admitted to answering their cell phone during intimacy with their partner. (Hey, what happened to valuing the person you are with in-person?) 

· One in five people would rather go without shoes for a week than take a break from (descansar de) their phone. (It's a good way to lose your sole and your soul).

· More than half never switch off their phone. (I'd call that an addiction).

· A full 66 percent of all adults suffer from "nomophobia." 

It's time to take a break 

Whenever I find myself needing something in order to cope, I always check my lifestyle and my health. This may sound crazy, but my rule of thumb (regla general) is that I don't allow myself to be brought under the control of anything. Outside of food, water and shelter, I guard myself against subjection to any addiction that begins to dictate my behavior. This includes technology. I recognize that cell phones, tablets, computers and other technology introduced in the future will make my life easier and enable (me permite) me to work more efficiently. My principle, though, is this: Technology should be a servant, not a master. 

So what should we do to model a balanced approach for students? 

· Be sure there are daily times you turn off the cell phone and experience either face-to-face conversations or solitude. 

· Balance screen time and in-person time each week. For every hour you invest in front of a screen, you invest in human contact. 

· Try a technology fast every month, where you actually go for a day or more without a computer, tablet or phone. You'll feel liberated. 

· Place your phone at least 15 feet away from you when you sleep at night. I realize you'll have to get up to push "snooze,"(botón del despertador) but it's safer this way. 

· Block your day in time zones, where you spend time using technology, but also have blocks of time for organic, genuine interaction with people

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tim-elmore/curing-students-of-nomoph_b_5710427.html

Mobile phones: do they make our life easier or make us depend on it?_F

I suppose if I ask someone if he could live without his mobile phone he would say no, because when you have started to use it, it's impossible to give it up. And it happens with all electronic devices and machines, which make us work less and prevent us from making the most of our time. But in case people abuse using their mobile phone, is it good for us or not?

I think the use of mobiles has two points of view: people who control the time they spend using them and the situations where they shoud be used, and people who do the opposite. The former in my opinion is worthy of merit, because hardly anybody can get to do it. In different cases we use it when we shoudn't but we control the time we use  it. So I feel these kind of people have an easier life because of the facilities that these devices give us. However, the latter is unpleasant and rude. I hate people who always use them, even when they are in the middle of a conversation. To my mind, it's a disease. Moreover, they sometimes say they are not addicted. In my view there's a limit, and people who don't respect the time and the situations when they aren't able to use it must change their manners.
To conclude, I don't think we coundn't life without it, but we have to learn when and where to use it, considering that they are very useful and nowadays mobile phones are indispensable in our way of life.

Pablo Martínez 2A

Mobile phones: do they make our life easier or make us depend on it?_F

It has been said that mobile phones help us in some situations. Nowadays, they have many uses: to call, to send messages, to play games, check the weather, surf the internet, shop etc. But, when does the mobile phone become a joy?

On the one hand, some people think that mobile phones are absolutely necessary because they are often present in people’s life. Such as, when the car ruins or, when you leave the house and you need to contact someone. Therefore, mobile phones make our life easier and simpler. 

On the other hand, sometimes when people meet with their friends or family, they pay too much attention to their phone. This fact represents an unhealthy dependence. 

To sum up, mobile phones are a good advance whenever used sparingly. Therefore, we have to make its use compatible with our social life.

Mobile phones: do they make our life easier or make us depend on it?

Since the release of the first mobile phone, which was not long ago, our society has been questioning whether it is a useful tool or something that prevents us from being totally independent.

In my opinion, as any other object, mobile phones are good or bad depending on what their owners use them for. It is known that today smartphones can do things that can’t be done without them: they are used to save lives (they allow us to call the local emergency number when needed), to connect people around the world, to record historic moments, to stay updated with the news, to manage our schedules... etc. Moreover, they constitute a quick access to the Internet and all the information it contains, knowledge has never been so easy to reach: you can carry your smartphone anywhere anytime and, consequently, access the information you need anywhere anytime. Furthermore, the Arab Spring wouldn’t have been possible without mobile phones. In summary, these devices have changed the world.

However, it can be argued that they make our lives too easy, that you don’t need to have any knowledge about anything since you can just ‘’google’’ it. Some people believe that they prevent us from enjoying the important things of life since we’re usually too busy watching banal YouTube videos instead of contemplating the wonders of nature. It is said that we use them in order to forget the real problems that sadden us, as we use drugs; that they are a way of keeping us ignorant and conformist, that we spend so much time with our smartphones because we are addicted to social networks, gossip news and other forms of audiovisual entertainment. But, the way I see it, these things, considered to be negative, happen as result of the wrong use of mobile phones.

So, in the end, we can use our phones to meet new people or to isolate us; to help us discover the world or to keep us ignorant; to make life easier or to avoid facing life... The choice is up to us. Personally, I embrace them because, with proper use, they do make our lives a lot easier.

Pedro Pérez 2A

EXCELLENT JOB BUT TOO LONG ,362 WORDS!!!

Mobile phones: do they make our life easier or make us depend on them?_F

Mobile phones have been developed in the last few years and most people have acquired one of them.

On the one hand we can say they make our life easier because they can do everything we want. It’s true you can phone, you can look for information on them, you can chat with people, you can listen to music and also watch TV.
On the other hand there is now a dependence on mobiles, once we have had them we cannot live without them. In fact, most people consider them the most important thing in their lives. What is more, we have given more importance to the mobile than face to face relationships.

To sum up, mobile phones have a lot of advantages that can help people in many ways, but because of this we think we cannot live without them. That’s why they have become more important than developing real human friendships.

Andrea Pons 2B

Mobile phones: do they make our life easier or make us depend on it? _F

Mobile phones make our life easier or make us depend on it? It depends on each person, many people can't live without their mobile phones, but there are other people that use their mobile phones to make their life easier.

Fisrtly,  we can all see that there are a lot of people that are walking on the streets using their mobile phones, and many times they are close to bumping into somebody or something, like a streetlight. These are the people who depend on their mobile phones, and sometimes, they are addicts. On the other hand, there is another kind of people who only use their mobile phone to make their lives easier. These people don't spend time playing with mobile phone or sharing pics in social networks all day.

In conclusion, there are two types of people, the first are the people that depend on mobile phones, they spend time playing on them or doing something that isn't profitable. The others, are the people that use their mobile phone to make their lives easier, like organize their calendar or their meetings.

Guillem Orfila Camps. 2n Batx. A

Mobile phones: do they make our life easier or make us depend on it?

Mobile phones have existed since the 80s and, at first, it seemed like this new gadget had the potential to make our lives easier by allowing us to talk to people from all around the world, especially when it came to business matters. However, a question must be asked: Are mobile phones starting to become an addiction to us instead of just being a tool to make our lives easier? I don’t know about you, but my answer would be yes.

First, I am going to start by pointing out the fact that, in the former years, several useless apps have been designed just to “entertain” the customers. It seems unbelievable the way most users end up being dependent on these apps and how strange the places where some people are willing to take their phones to are, just to keep using them; meaning, taking your mobile phone to the toilet is not ok.

To continue, people say that our phones let us talk to our friends and family whenever we want, but nobody mentions how many misunderstandings applications like whatsapp can lead to. Maybe we should reconsider if being able to talk to everybody at any time is something that benefits us or not.

In conclusion,  mobile phones are a great invention, but the next time you find yourself sending messages in your bathroom, ask yourself whether you are overusing the gadget.

Ana Laura Peralta 2B

Mobile phones: do they make our life easier or make us depend on it?_ F

Nowadays most people have mobile phones in their pockets with internet connection, that means that everyone has the responsibility to control themselves and avoid the dependence on  the phone.

It is true that having a smart mobile phone is a good way to be connected with the world and have the information you need at the moment, however, I think that having that power may be dangerous, people could start searching useful and interesting information, but then, when they get used to the phone, they become addicts, most teenagers can’t stand five minutes without having a look on the phone. In this case, we are talking about an addiction that may be treated by a psychologist.

In conclusion, although I agree that mobile phones can make us dependent on them, sometimes they help us to face our daily problems.

Albert Pascual 2B