What is Nomophobia?

Nomophobia is the fear of being out of mobile phone contact. Many people feel this particular fear, anxiety or stress under common circumstances such as when the phone is on low battery, being stolen, no network coverage, SIM card failure and running out of pre-paid credit.

Living in this fast developing world, communications is definitely important for us to catch up with the rapid pace of our hectic life. It cannot be denied that a simple phone call really does wonders. It allows a businessman to successfully clinch a deal, helps to bridge the abyss between distant friends or relatives or hold a “phone meeting” to discuss a project, even when both parties are at different sides of the globe. As the technology of mobile phone advances rapidly, a cell phone is not merely a device to make phone calls, unlike what it was meant to be when it was first invented in the 1950s. It is evidently more than that in this 21st century of modern technology. With the launch of Iphone, a mobile phone now seems to be a magic box packed with all sorts of entertainment functions such as radio, internet access, emails, games, MP3/MP4, camera, voice recorder, alarm clock, GPS and many more. As a result of the multi-functions of mobile phones, many people unwarily rely on this small device for 24 hours a day.
Nomophobia is the fear of being out of mobile phone contact. Many people feel this particular fear, anxiety or stress under common circumstances such as when the phone is on low battery, being stolen, no network coverage, SIM card failure and running out of pre-paid credit.
According to a 2008 research conducted by a UK-based research organization, YouGov, 13 millions of Britons are estimated to be nomophobic. More than half of the 2100 surveyed mobile users admitted to not switching off their cell phones but feeling a strong anxiety whenever they are out of mobile phone contact. In another 2009 survey conducted by market research firm Synovate found that Britons are among the 2nd group of populations to surf the net and check emails through their phone the most.

However, in Singapore, Singaporeans are among the most attached to their mobile phones according to the same survey. 49 percent of them even went as far as to say that they would not be able to live without their phones. In another survey conducted by Straits Times in September 2008, nine out of the 171 Singapore teens surveyed, aged between 13 -16, admitted to carrying their mobile phones with them for 24 hours a day.
Almost every teenager in Singapore carries a mobile phone around and many of them are hooked on to this small device 24/7. In actual fact, it is not rare to observe many of them checking their mobile phones every five minutes for a text message or a missed call. More often than not, many of us also tend to subconsciously check our cell phones when we hear a ringtone in public only to realize that it is not our phone ringing. All these seemed to become so natural to us and if this is deemed as an addiction, the addiction has probably been carried too far. Singapore teenagers’ dependency on mobile phones is so great that being out of phone contact sends their stress level soaring. Therefore, there is a vital need to address this future emergency in Singapore.