Another Woe of the Digital Age: iPhone Separation Anxiety
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iStock/Thinkstock(COLUMBIA, Mo.) — If you feel a little anxious and lost without your Apple iPhone, congratulations: you’re more dependent on the device than you probably realized.
Separation anxiety from iPhones definitely exists, according to University of Missouri researchers who claim it can lead to substandard psychological and physiological performance in mental tasks.
As proof, study author Russell Clayton first had 40 people complete a word search puzzle, first with their iPhones within easy reach. The second time, the iPhones were taken away but remained close enough so the participants could still hear their phones ringing.
Overall, when the iPhones were missing, people complained of feeling nervous and unsettled while trying to do the puzzle.
On top of that, Clayton reports that when people are separated from a device that has become an integral part of their everyday lives, they experience a lessening of self and a negative physiological state.
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