Smartphone addiction, aka ‘nomophobia’, aka ‘no-mobile-phone-phobia’ is real. Or is it?
Let us introduce you to ‘nomophobia’ – a newly analysed anxiety issue arising from a fear of being without mobile phone contact. No-mobile-phone-phobia, you see? And, yes, it’s a ‘thing’.
Nomophobia was coined by the UK Post Office after it commissioned the research agency YouGov to conduct a study into the varying anxieties suffered by mobile users (no-mobile-phone-phobia, in case you were wondering).
It’s claimed that some people’s addiction to their smartphones is as serious and as real as, say, Pete Dochery’s addiction to acupunture, and that anyone, literaly anyone could be at risk. Possibly.
Further backing up the Daily Mail-esque addiction fear-mongering, a software firm by the name of Frontrange asked 800 smartphone owners if they believed nomophobia was real, with a whopping 84 per cent reckoning that is was and that the fear of loss between a smartphone addict and their device was equivalent to that of a fat kid and chips.
Furthermore, 71 per cent claimed to know someone who would probably form a sobbing fetal position at the mere thought of being separated from their smartphone, 57 per cent worried that their own dependence would increase, and an attention-seeking 52 per cent believed they already suffered from the made-up word.
Falling firmly into the ‘First World Problem’ category, out of those polled 36 per cent said they were ‘very concerned’ about smartphone addiction, 22 per cent were ‘concerned’, 26 per cent ‘somewhat concerned’ and 16 per cent ‘not at all concerned’ or, as we call it, ‘realistic’.
We realise we may be coming across as a bit dismissive, but that’s merely because we are. However, we put it to you – you tell us below: Nomophobia, real or ridiculous?
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