Phone addicts’ secrets revealed

MOBILE phone users can feel stressed and anxious if separated from their handsets for long periods, with 90% obsessed with checking their phones at least once an hour, a new survey reveals.

Virgin Mobile describes the condition as a new form of addiction.

In its survey of 2,000 people, four out of five respondents felt uneasy if their phone was out of reach for a prolonged period of time, while 84% 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% 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.”

One-in-ten survey respondents admitted keeping their mobile phones under their pillows at night.