n.
The fear of being without your mobile phone or without a cellular signal. Also: nomo-phobia. [No + mobile + -phobia.]
—nomophobe n.
—nomophobic adj.
Example Citations:
Your heart rate accelerates, you feel short of breath, you reach quickly to your pocket and feel a wave of relief as you find your phone is still there.
There's a name for the overwhelming fear of losing your mobile phone and with it contact with friends and family — nomophobia — and the findings of a recent survey suggests it's on the rise.
—Heather Yundt, " Nomophobia—the fear of losing one's phone—is on the rise: http://www.canada.com/technology/Nomophobia+fear+losing+phone+rise/6171812/story.html," Ottawa Citizen, February 21, 2012
If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then you may be a nomophobe, and you are not alone.
Nomophobia — the fear of being without your cellphone — is on the rise, according to a new report sponsored by SecurEnvoy, a company that specializes in digital passwords.
—Deborah Netburn, " Nomophobia — fear of being without your phone — is on the rise: http://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-nomophobia-on-the-rise-20120216,0,2865154.story," Los Angeles Times, February 17, 2012
Earliest Citation:
The Post Office's® telephony expert Stewart Fox-Mills said: "Nomo-phobia is very real for many people in the UK. We're all familiar with the stressful situations of everyday life such as moving house, breakups and organising a family Christmas — but it seems that being out of mobile contact may be the 21st century's contribution to our already manic lives.
—" Lost without your mobile? Sounds like a case of nomo-phobia: http://www.royalmailgroup.com/news/2008/lost-without-your-mobile-sounds-case-nomo-phobia," Royal Mail Group, March 31, 2008
Notes:
Many thanks to Lee Lanselle for spying this term.
Related Words:
Categories:
nomo- is the Greek root for 'law'.
nomophobia is the fear of law, not the fear of not having mobile phones.vapphonophobia is a better
New words. 2013.