Are you a NOMOPHOBIAC?

Do you feel anxious when your cellphone isn't nearby? Do you worry about losing your cellphone? Do you always need to keep your cellphone on? Do you obsessively check missed calls, emails, and texts? Are you one of those people who walk around with a bluetooth ear plug? If so, you may suffer from nomophobia, the fear of being without a working cellphone. The term, which is derived from no mobile phone, was first coined in 2008 by the U.K. Post Office. Research studies have revealed the following stats about nomophobia:

• People check their cellphones an average of 34 times per day.
• 66 percent of people fear losing or being without their cell phones.
• 75 percent of people use their cellphones in the bathroom. (Multi-tasking, I guess!)
• About 30 percent of people would rather leave the house without a credit card or cash than their mobile phones.
• 55 percent of women would rather leave home without makeup.
• 11 percent of respondents with would rather leave home without pants than their smartphones. (That doesn't sound very "smart" to me)
• 63 percent said they would climb through trash to find a lost cellphone. (yuck)
• 25 percent said they would physically fight a thief to get their phone back.
• 40 percent said they would start to miss their phone in less than an hour.

Matt Woodley, managing editor, PreachingToday.com; sources: Deborah Netburn, "Nomophobia—fear of being without your phone—is on the rise," Los Angeles Times (2-17-12); Samantha Murphy, "Are You Afraid of Phone Separation?" Mashable (7-13-12)