Your phone is missing. You start to panic. You may be one of many people suffering from nomophobia (yes, that;s a real thing).
The numbers are astounding: 58% of smartphone users don’t go ONE HOUR without checking their phone. Nearly 60 percent of respondents don’t go an hour without checking their phones and 54 percent even check their phones while lying in bed. Going to church reduced that by quite a bit, but 9 percent still confessed to checking their phones during worship services. Nearly a third gaze at their screens during meals.
RELATED: How Your Phone Affects Your Skin (Yes, Your Skin)
According to a recent study, people suffer from separation anxiety which may impact our cognitive abilities. In simple terms, that means losing your phone equals you have consistent brain fart. Not good.
Among the key findings from this study were that when iPhone users were unable to answer their ringing iPhone during a word search puzzle, heart rate and blood pressure increased, self-reported feelings of anxiety and unpleasantness increased, and self-reported extended self and cognition decreased.
The researchers conclude that for many of us, our smartphone obsession has grown from a simple addiction into a dependency so severe that we feel incomplete without them. The results from the study suggest that iPhones are capable of becoming an extension of our selves such that when separated, we experience a lessening of ‘self’ and go into a negative physiological state.
Interestingly, the recommendation by some is not that we should lessen our collective dependency on our smartphones. Instead, the researchers take a more realistic approach: If you are about to engage in an activity that is high-pressure, or requires intense focus, it’s probably wise to bring along your iPhone in order to avoid elevated levels of stress and anxiety.
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