CNN - You may be one of the growing number of Americans (or global citizens) who has a bit of nomophobia.
"Nomophobia?" you mutter as you read this on your ever-present smartphone. "Of course not."
"NO MObile PHOne phoBIA" is a 21st-century term for the fear of not being able to use your cell phone or other smart device. Cell phone addiction is on the rise, surveys show, and a new study released Thursday adds to a growing body of evidence that smartphone and internet addiction is harming our minds — literally.
How do you know if you're addicted? There's an online (of course) quiz to find out, which has been translated into Spanish, Italian and Turkish.
Take the quiz here.
Rate your responses on a scale of 1 (completely disagree) to 7 (strongly agree) and add your score. According to Caglar Yildirim, an assistant professor of human computer interaction who created the scale for use in his research at State University of New York at Oswego, a score of 20 or below means you're not an addict; a score of 21 to 60 means you're mildly nomophobic; and a score of 61 to 99 means you probably can't go long without checking your phone.
"It might be a good idea to be conscious of that," Yildirim said, "but we are only concerned if it starts to interfere with your daily life."
Did you score between 100 and 200? You're probably struggling with severe anxiety when you can't access your cell phone, he said.
"This might negatively affect your social life and relationships with friends and family," Yildirim said. "There are studies that show those who score high on the test tend to avoid face-to-face interactions, have high levels of social anxiety and maybe even depression.
"It might affect your ability to work or study, because you want to be connected to your smartphone all the time," he added. "So if any of this applies to you, then it's time to start looking at your behavior and level of anxiety."
SecurEnvoy, a two-factor authentication company, conducted research using a polling panel (which is not as scientific as a randomized poll) and found that 66 percent of people in the United Kingdom have some form of nomophobia. Notably, 41 percent of the participants said they had two or more phones to make sure they stayed connected.
Surveys by the Pew Research Center this year showed that 77 percent of Americans own smartphones, up from 35 percent in 2011. Ninety-five percent own a cell phone of some kind.
What's wrong with being a cell phone junkie?
Obviously, there are some serious ramifications to having a cell phone habit. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, mobile phone use is partially to blame for the distracted driving that kills an estimated nine people each day and injures more than 1,000.
The prevalence of texting while driving has reached epidemic proportions. A 2010 study by the Pew Research Center said nearly half of US adults admit reading or sending a text message while driving. The news is worse for teens: Nearly one in three 16- or 17-year-olds said they have texted while driving.
Millennials are the worst offenders, according to Pew. Fifty-nine percent of people between the ages of 18 and 33 reported texting while driving, compared with 50 percent of Gen Xers (age 34 to 45) and only 29 percent of baby boomers.
It's not just driving. A study of pedestrians in midtown Manhattan found that 42 percent of those who entered traffic during a "Don't Walk" signal were talking on a cell phone, wearing headphones or looking down at an electronic device. A 2013 study found a tenfold increase in injuries related to pedestrians using cell phones from 2005 to 2010.
Other health ramifications include text neck — that cramping, stabbing pain that comes after looking down at your phone too long — and poor posture, which can affect your spine, respiratory functions and even emotions. Researchers have also found that the blue light emitted from our cell phones and other internet devices can disrupt melatonin production and therefore our sleep. (ontinueReading
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