Mobile phone addicts are open to nomophobia
by Steven Mostyn - Feb 17 2012, 10:23
Image: Gonzalo Baeza/Flickr.
It’s official, kids, that chill feeling of abject panic and desperation that sweeps over you while bleating about your misplaced mobile device now has a snazzy explanatory term: nomophobia.
According to a UK study commissioned by SecurEnvoy, two-thirds of employed mobile phone users are genuinely scared about losing their handsets and being cut off from the digital world around them.
Further to that, the study also found that some 41 percent of those polled even have a second, back-up device in order to allay their fears regarding the possibility of connectivity dropout.
“The first study in nomophobia, conducted four years ago, revealed that 53 percent of people suffered from the condition and our study reveals this has now risen to 66 percent in the UK and shows no sign of abating,” commented SecurEnvoy co-founder Andy Kemshall.
In terms of gender spread, 70 percent of women and 61 percent of men tend to be worried about losing their phones, while those aged between 18 and 24 make up the most ‘nomophobic’ age group (77 percent).
SecurEnvoy’s research comes after a similar study into mobile phone use found that users check their device, on average, 34 times per day, almost half do not use any form of handset security, and only 10 percent are savvy enough to employ data encryption technology.
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