The prevalence of smartphones in the modern world has led to considerable improvements in quality of life, but it has also led to a rise in so called “nomophobia”. This term, which refers to the phobia of not having a mobile phone, isn’t recognized by the psychological community, yet it has become an alarmingly high concern for a sizeable proportion of smartphone users around the world.
According to a survey conducted by HostingAdvice, around 33% of Americans currently experience nomophobia. This can lead to symptoms like depression and anxiety, and many nomophobes have an almost pathological fear of losing their mobile phones. Many are calling this a sign of increasing smartphone addiction, and it turns out that men are more likely to experience it than women.
Based on the findings presented in this report, 39% of men experience nomophobia compared to 28% of women that said the same. This might be due to men using their phones for a greater number of hours per day, with around 23% of male survey respondents admitting that they’re on their phones for at least four hours daily.
Around 20% of people that refer to themselves as nomophobes said that there is no way they’d survive if they don’t have their smartphone constantly within rich. Of course, there are certain things that could ease their transition into a smartphone free or at least less smartphone dependent lifestyle.
When asked what would help them stop using their devices as frequently, 50% said that winning the lottery would seriously soften the blow. 26% also stated that finding their ideal romantic partner would be extremely helpful when it came to reducing smartphone usage, with 23% saying that not having to work again would also be useful in that regard. 22% stated that finding the perfect job could aid them in avoiding their smartphones to an extent, with 16% mentioning the chance to live abroad.
This seems to suggest that nomophobes and smartphone addicts are trying to fill a void inside themselves with their mobile devices. Compulsive smartphone usage is a serious problem, and 14% of survey respondents said that they know hundreds of people that can be classified as nomophobes. More research needs to be done in order to reveal the truth behind these findings, but suffice it to say that nomophobia is clearly something that many believe they are struggling with.
Read next: Social Media Gets Creepy For Some While Interesting For Others As Meta Includes Labels For Its AI-Generated Profiles
According to a survey conducted by HostingAdvice, around 33% of Americans currently experience nomophobia. This can lead to symptoms like depression and anxiety, and many nomophobes have an almost pathological fear of losing their mobile phones. Many are calling this a sign of increasing smartphone addiction, and it turns out that men are more likely to experience it than women.
Based on the findings presented in this report, 39% of men experience nomophobia compared to 28% of women that said the same. This might be due to men using their phones for a greater number of hours per day, with around 23% of male survey respondents admitting that they’re on their phones for at least four hours daily.
Around 20% of people that refer to themselves as nomophobes said that there is no way they’d survive if they don’t have their smartphone constantly within rich. Of course, there are certain things that could ease their transition into a smartphone free or at least less smartphone dependent lifestyle.
When asked what would help them stop using their devices as frequently, 50% said that winning the lottery would seriously soften the blow. 26% also stated that finding their ideal romantic partner would be extremely helpful when it came to reducing smartphone usage, with 23% saying that not having to work again would also be useful in that regard. 22% stated that finding the perfect job could aid them in avoiding their smartphones to an extent, with 16% mentioning the chance to live abroad.
This seems to suggest that nomophobes and smartphone addicts are trying to fill a void inside themselves with their mobile devices. Compulsive smartphone usage is a serious problem, and 14% of survey respondents said that they know hundreds of people that can be classified as nomophobes. More research needs to be done in order to reveal the truth behind these findings, but suffice it to say that nomophobia is clearly something that many believe they are struggling with.
Read next: Social Media Gets Creepy For Some While Interesting For Others As Meta Includes Labels For Its AI-Generated Profiles
