At some point, cell phones became the adult version of a blankie. 83 percent of millennials sleep with their cell phones. The average smartphone user checks his or her phone 34 times day. When you’re uncomfortable at a party, you feign interest in your phone. When you’re too embarrassed to make eye contact, you feign interest in your phone. Now a British market survey suggests that 54 percent of the public suffers from “nomophobia,” a term coined five years ago to describe “the fear of losing signal, running out of battery, or losing sight of their phone.” Comfort-object-separation anxiety is not just for children.
To wean a child from a blankie, parenting blogs suggest distractions like a new toy or “a soft night light.” Thus, to wean yourself from phone-kie, try becoming addicted to some other technology. Tamagotchi, maybe.
