It’s estimated that almost 87 percent of us boomers owned a cell phone last year, and that number feels “just about right” as I think of all my friends and colleagues—for sure, they all do own a cell phone, smartphone or tablet.
Surely you’ve noticed how some people feel they HAVE to punch away at their phones in a restaurant, on a sidewalk, between meetings at the office—even during a conversation with another person.
In so many ways, it seems like a crime to be so reliant—make that addicted—to technology. I for one don’t need constant tactile contact with my phone, which can bring me good news or bad. Sometimes I just “need to get away from it all.”
No phone home?
If you’re a devotee with extreme phone separation anxiety, you may also have a(nother) new disorder called nomophobia. It’s short for “no mobile phone phobia” and in the latest numbers, 66 percent of those surveyed by SecurEnvoy in the United Kingdom felt compelled to be glued to their devices, up from 53 percent surveyed four years ago. We might imagine that U. S. numbers are on a par, if not higher.
Dial these numbers
Other results from this survey include:
- 41 percent of people interviewed have two phones or more. Men are most likely to do this.
- 49 percent of people get upset if their messages and texts are viewed by a partner, yet they’re still lax at securing their devices.
- More women worry about losing their phones than men: 70 percent of the women surveyed compared to 61 percent of the men.
- Age groups break down like this:
- Most nomophobic are 18 – 24 at 77 percent.
- Next: 25 – 34 at 6 8 percent.
- In third place: the 55 and overs—us baby boomers!
- Researchers said the disorder “shows no signs of abating.” They also referenced another study that says people check their phones on average of 34 times a day.
How do you rank in this survey? The numbers have a familiar “ring” to them, since they remind us of people we know, don’t they?