Over half of population suffer from phone loss anxiety, according to survey

There’s no question about it – we’re a generation that relies on its technology for pretty much everything.

As if to prove this theory, a new survey has revealed that over half of the population suffer from Nomophobia – the fear of being without your phone.

The survey of 1,000 people, by commissioned by AppRiver, the e-mail and web security experts, and conducted by OnePoll, found that people are now so obsessed with the need to be connected to their phones that even when they are away on holiday, 42% will take their devices to the beach.

It was also revealed that:

17% of people will work on their emails in bed
25% of women look at their phones during a dinner date
Conversely, 70% of people have no way of remotely wiping their phones if they get lost

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First identified in 2008, it would appear Nomophobia, the fear of being out of mobile phone contact, is a very real problem for the majority of the population. Over 54% admit to suffering, with women 17% more likely to suffer from Nomophobia than their male counterparts.

28% of people will look at their work emails whilst on away from home, with men slightly more eager to catch their emails than their female counterparts.

With phones now holding so much valuable information, it is worrying to note that just 50% of people bother to secure them with a password or any other form of security and 70% have no way to remotely wipe the device were their phone to be lost or stolen.

Fred Touchette, senior security analyst at AppRiver said: “It’s pretty clear that we’re a society totally reliant on our phones not only for personal use but business use too. Even when we’re away on holiday, lying in bed or on a dinner date many of us just can’t help looking at our emails, no matter what time of day or the situation. What worries me is that, with so much information stored on them - from confidential office documents, contact details, emails, photos, bank log-ins, etc., when these devices get lost or stolen and end up in the wrong hands the information is so easily exploited as little to any security precautions are taken.

“Our advice is always to protect your phone with security - at the very least with a password, and if you’re using it for work get your IT department to secure them with encryption or even better the ability to wipe them remotely.”

Over half of population suffer from phone loss anxiety, according to survey

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