Nguyen Hoang Nam from Ha Noi has a serious complaint: His girlfriend, Nguyen Thi Cam Nhung, appears to be more in love with her smartphone than with him.
Ever since she purchased the new iPhone, they've spent significantly less time talking to each other.
Vu Hai Trang from Hai Phong City has also bought into the smartphone trend with a new Samsung model. She initially intended to use it for simple applications such as making phone calls or checking emails, but after a while, the variety of interesting applications on the phone got her hooked.
Now, she even takes pictures of the food she's eating while dining out with friends to post them on the Internet. Her friends complain that she has become too absorbed with using her phone, even when serious issues are being discussed. As a result of being constantly distracted by her phone, Trang has had less interaction with the people around her, and her work has suffered greatly.
Cases like those of Nhung and Trang are not rare. Many posters on Internet forums have confessed to being heavily addicted to their smartphones and have expressed deep concern that their social life and work will be affected.
They have in common a "disease" inflicted by modern technology: nomophobia - an abbreviation for "no-mobile-phone phobia" - which has resulted from the rapid global development of technology in recent times.
At the Mobile Festival 2014 held last May, Intel Viet Nam Corporation revealed some very interesting figures about the number of mobile phone users in the country. For instance, a Vietnamese person, on average, spends 69 minutes checking tablets and 168 minutes on smartphones per day, which is much higher than the average time in the rest of the world (50 minutes and 147 minutes, respectively).
According to Intel, the increasing popularity of 3G Internet, public WiFi and cheap Internet devices has given the Vietnamese, especially the youth, more opportunities to use their smartphones and tablets than usual. They are extremely interested in joining social networks, making comments on funny photos, texting friends and playing games.
According to psychologist Nguyen Thi Tam, director of the Viet Nam Insight Applied Psychology Company, nomophobia has spread widely across Viet Nam as a result of the increased acceptance of smartphones. At first, people use it for its basic functions. Then, they gradually get hooked on finding more interesting programmes and fail to notice their growing addiction.
Tam added that besides feeling anxious while waiting for messages from social networks or online games, users will find that their social skills have gradually eroded.
"I have many friends online, but to be honest, I have also lost quite a few of my regular friends from my daily life," Trang admits.
Another smartphone addict, Nguyen Huy Quang, is facing health problems since he started surfing the Internet and chatting with friends on his iPad every night before going to bed. It often takes Quang a while to lull himself to sleep after turning off his iPad, which typically makes him feel tired the next morning. In addition, the poor posture he adopts while using his tablet has given him back and neck aches.
This problem is not restricted to Viet Nam. Nomophobia has become a significant problem for many Asian countries, especially those with advanced technology, such as Singapore and South Korea .
According to psychologist Tam, in order to have a balanced life, mobile phone users should know how to use the instrument properly, especially by moderating their time spent on social networks to ensure that relationships with those around them do not suffer and that they have the time to concentrate on their work.
Although programmes and centres like those in South Korea and Singapore are not available in Viet Nam, many Vietnamese addicts have found their own way to fight against nomophobia.
Vu Hai Trang from Hai Phong City has also bought into the smartphone trend with a new Samsung model. She initially intended to use it for simple applications such as making phone calls or checking emails, but after a while, the variety of interesting applications on the phone got her hooked.
Now, she even takes pictures of the food she's eating while dining out with friends to post them on the Internet. Her friends complain that she has become too absorbed with using her phone, even when serious issues are being discussed. As a result of being constantly distracted by her phone, Trang has had less interaction with the people around her, and her work has suffered greatly.
Cases like those of Nhung and Trang are not rare. Many posters on Internet forums have confessed to being heavily addicted to their smartphones and have expressed deep concern that their social life and work will be affected.
They have in common a "disease" inflicted by modern technology: nomophobia - an abbreviation for "no-mobile-phone phobia" - which has resulted from the rapid global development of technology in recent times.
At the Mobile Festival 2014 held last May, Intel Viet Nam Corporation revealed some very interesting figures about the number of mobile phone users in the country. For instance, a Vietnamese person, on average, spends 69 minutes checking tablets and 168 minutes on smartphones per day, which is much higher than the average time in the rest of the world (50 minutes and 147 minutes, respectively).
According to Intel, the increasing popularity of 3G Internet, public WiFi and cheap Internet devices has given the Vietnamese, especially the youth, more opportunities to use their smartphones and tablets than usual. They are extremely interested in joining social networks, making comments on funny photos, texting friends and playing games.
According to psychologist Nguyen Thi Tam, director of the Viet Nam Insight Applied Psychology Company, nomophobia has spread widely across Viet Nam as a result of the increased acceptance of smartphones. At first, people use it for its basic functions. Then, they gradually get hooked on finding more interesting programmes and fail to notice their growing addiction.
Tam added that besides feeling anxious while waiting for messages from social networks or online games, users will find that their social skills have gradually eroded.
"I have many friends online, but to be honest, I have also lost quite a few of my regular friends from my daily life," Trang admits.
Another smartphone addict, Nguyen Huy Quang, is facing health problems since he started surfing the Internet and chatting with friends on his iPad every night before going to bed. It often takes Quang a while to lull himself to sleep after turning off his iPad, which typically makes him feel tired the next morning. In addition, the poor posture he adopts while using his tablet has given him back and neck aches.
This problem is not restricted to Viet Nam. Nomophobia has become a significant problem for many Asian countries, especially those with advanced technology, such as Singapore and South Korea .
According to psychologist Tam, in order to have a balanced life, mobile phone users should know how to use the instrument properly, especially by moderating their time spent on social networks to ensure that relationships with those around them do not suffer and that they have the time to concentrate on their work.
Although programmes and centres like those in South Korea and Singapore are not available in Viet Nam, many Vietnamese addicts have found their own way to fight against nomophobia.
