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Do you get anxious without your phone? (Dave Thompson/PA Images)
mobile addict

Increase in nomophobia (fear of being apart from your phone)

Do you check your mobile more than 34 times a day? You might have a new tech-driven phobia…

DO YOU GET agitated without your phone? If you forget your phone do you panic? You could be one of the 66 per cent of people who suffer from ‘nomophobia’ – as in no-mobile-phone phobia.

According to a study by SecurEnvoy, a company that deals in mobile phone technology, the fear of being apart from your mobile phone  is on the rise.

Mobile phone technology has vastly improved over the years, making our phones useful for things other than making phone calls. We can check our bank balance, surf the web and even check the petrol prices at our nearest station.

With improved technology on mobile devices an increase in the numbers suffering from ‘nomophobia’ has followed. A similar study four years ago said 53 per cent of people admitted to a fear of losing their mobile phones, showing that there has been over a 10 per cent increase.

NBC Miami reports that study shows that people check their mobile phones an average of 34 times a day while 75 per cent of people use their phones in the bathroom.

Nomophobia is more likely to effect younger people and women.

Here are the tell tale signs that you may be suffering from nomophobia – obsessively checking your phone, constantly worrying about losing it even when it’s in a safe place, and never turning it off.

One third of 8-year-olds own a mobile phone>

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