3 out 4 mobile users surveyed have NoMophobia: Report

Three out of every four people surveyed in India have ‘NoMoPhobia’ — the fear of being detached from their smartphones due to low battery or other reasons, a joint study by mobile phone maker Oppo and market research firm Counterpoint said on Friday.

According to the report, 65 per cent of smartphone users surveyed experience emotional discomfort—worried or anxious, disconnected, helpless, fear of missing out, nervous, unsafe—when their battery drains.

NoMoPhobia, short for no mobile phobia, refers to the fear of, or anxiety caused by, not having a working mobile phone. Oppo India collaborated with Counterpoint to understand modern smartphone users’ battery anxiety levels. The survey covered over 1,500 respondents in tier 1 and some tier 2 cities.

”This is a foundational study and will be instrumental in the way we make our products. 60 per cent of people are going to replace their smartphones because the battery is not performing. More importantly, we cue this to make our products battery,” Oppo India Chief Marketing Officer Damyant Singh Khanoria said.

The study found that 82 per cent of male users feel more anxious compared to 74 per cent of female users. 92.5 per cent of users use power saving mode on their phone and 87 per cent use their phone while it’s getting charged. About 42 per cent of respondents use smartphones most for entertainment, where social media is at the top. Around 65 per cent of users sacrifice phone usage to conserve battery while 82 per cent limit their social media usage.

”Our smartphones have become our personal universes that enable us to stay connected, personally and professionally, and also for entertainment. Consequently, many of us have developed a phobia of being without our phones. ”As a result, people often feel anxious at the thought of running out of battery and being unable to use their phones. The feeling of low battery anxiety is higher among the working age group of 31 to 40 years followed by the age group of 25 to 30 years,” Counterpoint Research Director, Tarun Pathak said.