Are You Addicted to Your Smartphone?

Nomophobia: It’s a real thing.

Do you consider your phone an extension of yourself? It seems a little silly, but more and more people are considering their phones a strong part of their identity.

Why is that?

Researchers in Hong Kong studied nomophobia, the fear of being phone-less, in teenagers. They found that many do feel stress when apart from their phones, especially when the phones were used “as a tool for storing, sharing and accessing personal memories that reflect their identities,” according to the researchers.

Part of the study looked at what words the students used when apart from their phones. Those with high nomophobia tended to use words like “alone” and “want” compared to the others, who tended to use refer to more practical terms like “games” and “text.”

So, for those nonphobia sufferers out there, make sure you’re taking steps to disconnect every now and again.

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