Being out of mobile phone contact is as stressful as getting married or
starting a new job, and is such a wide spread affliction that it should
be classed ‘no mobile phobia.’
In fact, half of Britons reported feelings of anxiety when their mobile
runs out of battery or credit, when they lose their phone or when they
have no network coverage.
Keeping in touch with friends or family is the main reason people are
wedded to their handset, while just 10% say it is their work that
dictates they must be contactable at all times.
Men are more likely than women to feel anxious about mobile phone
downtime, which can also be onset by powering off the handset – a
button 25% of us refuse to press at bedtime.
Such a feeling of being ‘always-on’ for business or pleasure explains
why mobile phone outages are on a par with other traditional stresses,
like splitting up with a partner.
Telecoms experts at the Post Office, which commissioned the findings,
also ranked the task of starting a new job and going to the dentist
alongside a bout of ‘nomophobia.’
“Nomo-phobia is very real for many people in the UK,” said the
company’s telecoms expert, Stewart Fox- Mills, who said their research
with YouGov suggests 13million people could be suffering.
“We’re all familiar with the stressful situations of everyday life such
as moving house, break-ups and organising a family Christmas - but it
seems that being out of mobile contact may be the 21st century’s
contribution to our already manic lives.”
He said that regardless of the cause of being out of mobile phone
contact, the research shows being panicked when phoneless “is a symptom
of our 24/7 culture.”
To defuse the stress, he advised users to back up their numbers, top up
their talk time regularly and charge batteries regularly, while keeping
a spare at work.
The group tabled alternatives for when a user’s mobile goes down, like
having a prepaid phonecard or a contact number with voicemail for
friends, family or colleagues.
But most importantly, “if you don’t want to be contacted, liberate
yourself from the shackles of your mobile by switching off your phone.”
The findings, which represent a blow to the mobile phone industry, come
in the same week that a cancer expert claimed the ubiquitous handset
could kill more people than smoking.
After reviewing, 100 studies of the long-term effect of using mobile
phones, Dr Vini Khurana, a specialist neurosurgeon, concluded that
there was growing evidence between handsets and certain brain tumours.
The Mobile Operators Association was less convinced by his verdict,
reportedly saying the doctor’s study was a “selective discussion of
scientific literature”.
Apr 1, 2008
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