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The despair of losing your smartphone

Smartphone users keep everything on them, which is why losing one can be a terrifying proposition — and why a whole industry now exists to help you find it.

By Beth Teitell

 |  Globe Staff  

  May 22, 2012

Nomophobia. It’s short for “no mobile phone phobia,” a condition identified by the UK Post Office after its 2008 study found that nearly 85 percent of mobile phone users get anxious when they run out of battery, have no network coverage, or (gads!) lose their phone altogether. California State University psychology professor Larry Rosen has another word for it: reasonable. “On some level, if your life is part and parcel of your phone, you should panic,” he said.

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