A new phobia has hit the scene and I'm sure y'all have seen some sufferers of it in your day. It's called nomophobia, which sounds an awful lot like no-mo-phone-bia, because it is the fear of not having access to your smartphone.

True story, and I'm truly sorry if you suffer from this.

[R]esearch defines nomophobia as the fear of being detached from smartphone connectivity. While it is not yet considered a legitimate mental disorder like other specific phobias — such as fears of animals, storms, heights, etc. — nomophobia's conceptualization is founded on definitions from the Diagnostic Manual of Mental Disorders.

The research outlines that symptoms of nomophobia include many of those seen in other specific phobias, such as anxiety, shaking, sweating, agitation and breathing difficulties. It was also found that those with low-self esteem and extraversion may be more prone to the overuse of smartphones, and therefore more likely to experience nomophobia.

Man, I really want to laugh right now, but I mean, this could be serious for some people so, uhh, yeah. Anyhow, believe it or not, according to a study, "21% of the adult population suffers from severe nomophobia, and around 71% of the population has moderate nomophobia."

I'll give you 15 seconds to guess which portion of our population suffers most from this new phobia.

If you guessed college students, you're our lucky winner!

Actually, you don't win anything because it was the obvious answer. 25% of college students suffer from severe nomophobia. And this is why they're complete sociopaths without any people skills.

I kid, I kid...

Or do I?

Not only do sufferers of nomophobia feel anxious when they don't have their phone, they feel similar if their phone isn't connected to the internet, doesn't have cell service, or is running out of battery.

So if you know anyone who suffers from nomophobia I want you to do them a favor; I want you to take their phone, put it on silent, and hide it somewhere. Because the best way to defeat a phobia is to desensitize yourself to it.

I'm totally kidding.

(Kinda.)

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