There have been a number of catalogued fears in the history of psychology, but as technology comes into play, new fears arise. Like for instance Nomophobia, a fear of being without your mobile phone. You may think that’s funny but as per PhD students in Iowa State University its quite a serious problem.

Caglar Yildirim and Ana-Paula Correia have identified four dimensions for this fear.  They used a questionnaire to test people’s reactions to statements that were given. The scale ran from 1 where the participant strongly disagreed to 7 where they strongly agreed. The higher they scored the more severe form of Nomophobia did they suffer from.

In the section of the questionnaire where people were asked to answer how they would react if they did not have their smartphone with them, a number of statements were made about how uncomfortable and anxious they would feel. Some were concerned about not being able to contact family, while others would miss keeping up to date with social websites. Someone even mentioned that they would not know what to do.

The truth is that mobile phones have become an integral part of our lives. Smartphones act not merely as phone but as cameras, internet access points, communication hub and a personal assistant as well. All this science experiment pointed out is the importance that we give to this little gadget in our lives.