It's the accessory as predictable as luggage when most of us catch a flight. Whether its glued to our ear, or or pounded on by our fingers, the average American checks their phone 80 times a day.
Myjorca Johnson, who we spoke to while she was waiting for her flight to San Antonio, estimates she spends about six hours a day on her phone.
Joe Vita said," I don't like my battery percentage to go below 80 percent. I start getting nervous ... I keep it really high."
That fear of dwindling power has led to 15 research papers by leading psychologists in the past three years. What they've surmised, is that we all have a *reason* why we are constantly on our phones.
Some said it's for social media, others for directions, but most people said it's so they can stay connected to either family or work.
Psychologist Dr. Katherine Pang said there's also a reason in our *own* hard-wiring why cell phones are so addictive.
"We are created to be in community, we're created to be connected, were created to be attached, and that's been perpetuated a lot by technology," Pang said, adding that she's seen phone addiction in patients as young as 6 years old.
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Research shows the anxiety of being disconnected affects adolescents the hardest.
"The need for validation and affirmation is so high, particularly in today's culture, that if someone doesn't respond to someone's text in nano seconds they are immediately internalizing or catastrophize-ing. 'Am I on the outs? Does somebody not care?' It's creating huge pressures," Pang said.
The term nomophobia, or no-mobile phone-phobia, was added to the dictionary in 2016. How do you know if you have it? Ask yourself what's your anxiety level on a scale of 1-10 if someone took your phone away for 24 hours?
The travelers we asked said anything from, " I would say probably like a seven," to "probably a four." We also heard, "it spikes up to seven or eight right there. I don't think I could go that long without it."
As more of our business is done on a phone, and more of our entertainment is provided by them, researchers fear our addiction will only grow.
Where there is a phone there must be a charge, regardless of how you find it. Myjorca Johnson admits, "a bathroom ... yeah for like 10 minutes ... just to get 5 percent. I was like, 'if i could just get to the 5 percent I'll be OK.'"
Including taps, swipes, clicks and typing, the average American touches their smartphone 2,617 times a day! We are all creatures of habit, so the actual checking in and swiping becomes part of our daily routine like brushing our teeth before bed.
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Looking for ways to extend the battery life of your mobile phone? There are a few easy things you can in your device's settings to squeeze more time out of your battery. (Updated May 14, 2018)
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