Irrational fear of being phoneless on the rise

A British survey finds a rise in "nomophobia"--the fear of being without a phone

A report out of the UK is pointing to a troubling rise in nomophobia—the fear of being without one’s phone.  Yes, it’s a real disorder, complete with its own set of symptoms and treatment options (does your healthcare plan cover it?).

Characterized by an overwhelming fear of being phoneless—so much so that it results in physical symptoms, such as panic attacks, dizziness, sweating, nausea, and involuntary “air-texting” (not really)—nomophobia may now affect 66% of Brits, according to a survey commissioned by the UK-based mobile authentication company SecurEnvoy.  In a survey of 1,000 people conducted by OnePoll, two out of three respondents reported a fear of being somehow separated from his or her phone.  This is up from 53% in 2008, when researchers first began delving into the bizarre new disorder.

Even more surprising—I think—is that a full 41% of respondents said that they actually own two phones so that they’re never out of contact.  Interestingly, more women suffer from the disorder than men: 70% compared to 61%.  But that could be because men are more likely than women to own two phones—47% and 36%, respectively.  But when the disorder was first scrutinized four years ago, researchers found that men were more likely to suffer from nomophobia than women.

Not surprisingly at all, younger respondents (18-24) report higher levels of nomophobia than any other age group—77%, compared to 68% of those 25-34.

“There is another study into mobile phone use that found people check their phones, on average, 34 times a day, so it wouldn’t take long for you to realize if you’d misplaced your device,” said SecurEnvoy CTO Andy Kemshall, in a statement.

Of course, a company representative tells me that SecurEnvoy used the term loosely to cover any and all anxiety over losing your phone—which understandably strikes fear into the hearts of most cell phone owners.  If you’ve ever lost your phone or realized you left it at home, the feeling is akin to going to the grocery store and realizing you left your baby in the car. 

Allaboutcounseling.com outlines several treatment options for nomophobia, including exposure therapy—or turning off your cell phone—as well as medications. 

Mark my words: we will beat this.  I propose a Million Phone Addict March for the Cure.  We can track the route on our phones.

Image source: blogspot.com