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Nomophobia – the fear of being out of mobile phone contact. (Yes, it’s a real word.) The term, an abbreviation for “no-mobile-phone phobia,” was coined during a study by the UK Post Office who commissioned YouGov, a UK-based research organization to look at anxieties suffered by mobile phone users.

That original study showed that 53 percent of mobile phone users in Britain tend to be anxious when they “lose their mobile phone, run out of battery or credit, or have no network coverage.” Well, guess what? It’s now on the rise.

According to a recent survey by SecurEnvoy, nomophobia is sharply increasing in the UK. They found that two thirds of respondents fear losing or being without their mobile phone. And, 41% of people, in an effort to stay connected, have two phones or more. A little more shocking, “when asked if they’d be upset if a partner looked at the messages and texts on their phone almost half said that they would.”

And that’s not all:

• More women worry about losing their phones than men – 70% of the women surveyed compared to 61% of the men
• It is men that are more likely to have two phones – scoring 47% and 36% respectively.
• The younger age group (18 – 24) that are more nomophobic at 77%, with the 25 – 34 age group second at 68%. (The third most nomophobic are the 55 and betters.)
• While 49% of people surveyed would get upset if their messages and texts were viewed by a partner, they’re still lax at securing these devices.
• Forty-six percent do not use any security or mobile-device protection at all, 41% use a four pin access code; and just 10% encrypt their device.

Do you worry about losing your phone?

photo credit: stillframe via photopin cc