An epidemic of Nomophobia, the fear of being without a phone, has spread across the UK according to new research.
First identified in 2008, Nomophobia is still a problem for the majority of the population with over 54% suffering from the condition. Women suffer most and are 17% more likely to be afflicted by men, finds the survey.
The study among 1,000 people in employment, commissioned by AppRiver, found that people are now so obsessed with the need to be connected to their phones that even when they are away on their annual holiday, 42% will take their devices down to the beach with them.
The survey discovered that 28% of people will also look at their work emails while on away from home, with men slightly more eager to catch their emails than their female counterparts.
And it seems the bedroom, rather than a haven of relaxation, is instead another favourite place to work as 17% of people checking their emails in bed. Many risk indigestion as 25% feed their email addiction or text during a dinner date, with women once again 10% more likely to do so than men.
With phones now holding so much valuable information, it is worrying to note that just 50% of people bother to secure them with a password or any other form of security and 70% have no way to remotely wipe the device were their phone to be lost or stolen.
Fred Touchette, senior security analyst at AppRiver said: "It's clear that we're a society totally reliant on our phones not only for personal use but business use too. Even when we're away on holiday, lying in bed or on a dinner date many of us just can't help looking at our emails, no matter what time of day or the situation.
"What worries me is that, with so much information stored on them - from confidential office documents, contact details, emails, photos, bank log-ins, etc, when these devices get lost or stolen and end up in the wrong hands the information is so easily exploited as little to any security precautions are taken.
"Our advice is always to protect your phone with security - at the very least with a password, and if you're using it for work get your IT department to secure them with encryption or even better the ability to wipe them remotely."