No more network and the anxiety rises. This feeling is much more widespread on this side of the Sarine. According to a survey published Tuesday by Comparis, 40% of French-speaking people say they worry when they have neither a mobile network nor an internet connection. They are only 20% in German-speaking Switzerland.
This difference is reflected in other indicators of “nomophobia,” the term for fear or unease caused by the absence of a smartphone or connection. In French-speaking Switzerland, 37% of respondents show obvious signs, compared to 28% across Sarine. And 42% of French-speaking people fear having to spend at least 24 hours without their phone, compared to 29% of German-speaking people.
Young people more concerned
Across Switzerland, nearly a third of those questioned show clear signs of nomophobia, or more than 2 million people according to Comparis extrapolation. Some 7% show more pronounced signs.
16-35 year olds are the most affected: almost one in two show at least obvious signs. “For many, the smartphone has become the digital umbilical cord with the outside world,” explains Jean-Claude Frick, digital expert at Comparis.
The most common symptom is repeatedly checking the phone for fear of missing a message or call, cited by half of those surveyed. Next comes the stress of going out without your smartphone (35%) and nervousness when the battery runs low (34%). “If a dead battery or lack of network is enough to cause anxiety, it shows how much our sense of security is linked to this device,” adds the expert.
Some recommendations
Comparis advises in particular to keep your phone out of reach or place its screen down, to deactivate certain notifications, to activate Concentration mode or to set limits on usage time.
The survey was carried out in September by the Innofact institute among 1,027 people aged 16 to 74 in Switzerland, says Comparis.
