Mobile users can't keep hands off handsets

MOBILE phone users can feel stressed and anxious if separated from their handsets for long periods, a new survey reveals.
The survey of 2000 people showed that 90 per cent were "obsessed" with checking their phone at least once an hour.

Four out of five respondents felt uneasy if their phone was out of reach for a prolonged period of time, while 84 per cent said they never let their handsets out of sight. And one in seven users admitted suffering anxiety if separated from their mobile.

Losing a mobile phone is worse than losing a wallet or house keys, according to 60 per cent of respondents.

David Nott, addiction treatment manager at the Priory Hospital Marchwood in Southampton, was consulted by Virgin Mobile about the study. He said people entering the private hospital for treatment were asked to switch their mobiles off between 9am and 5pm. "People are beginning to treat their mobiles as human beings because they symbolise contact, friendship and attention," he said.
"This leads to people relying on them for affection and feeling needed - classic separation anxiety, akin to when a child is separated from its mother." Virgin Mobile spokeswoman Alison Bonny said checking mobile phones had become an addiction for some users. "The mobile phone has become so important that many of us have a compulsion to check our mobiles as soon as we leave a meeting or get off a plane," she said.

This article: http://news.scotsman.com/uk.cfm?id=129682006
Last updated: 26-Jan-06 11:35 GMT