Over 200 Million Americans Have NOMOPHOBIA – An Addiction To Cell Phones

As it turns out, speaking on a cell phone makes some people tend to forget their manners. But National Cell Phone Courtesy Month is here to act as a friendly reminder for folks to create new – and more attentive – habits when they need to talk on the phone in public spaces.

Fifty years ago, Martin Cooper, an engineer for Motorola, stood nervously along 6th Avenue in New York City, about to do something that had never been done before. He reached into his pocket for a little telephone book and dialed a number. Then a connection was made, and the person on the other end picked up. It was his competitor, Joel Engel, at Bell Labs. The conversation went:

“Hi, Joel, it’s Marty Cooper.’ And he said, ‘Oh, Hi, Marty.’ And I said, ‘Joel, I’m calling you from a cell phone. But a real cell phone, a handheld, personal, portable cell phone,’” said Cooper. “As you could tell, I was not averse to rubbing it in.”

• National Cell Phone Courtesy Month can trace its beginnings back to 2002, when the day was founded by Jacqueline Whitmore, who is a manners expert from Palm Beach, Florida.
• Whitmore founded her own etiquette school and she was beginning to include some of the issues related to cell phone use in her curriculum.
• As of 2022, 85% of adults in the United States own a smartphone and there are more than 6.5 billion smartphone users all over the world.
• On average, an American will check their cell phone more than 300 times per day!
• Up to 47% of Americans would say that they are “addicted” to their cell phones and 74% feel uneasy if they leave their cell phone at home.
• According to a study published in 2015, 77% of all adults in the U.S. believe it is okay for people to use their cell phones while walking down the street.
• 75% support the use of phones on public transit.
• 1940s – AT&T engineers develop cells for mobile phone base stations.
• 1973 – Motorola mass produces the first mobile phone.
• 1989 – The first Motorola flip phone is launched.
• 2007 – The first iPhone is launched.
• A cell phone that has the ability to run various software and browse the internet is a smart phone.
• Mobile radiation has been linked to infertility, headaches, insomnia, and tumors.
• One of the best-selling mobile phones is the Nokia 1100 which sold 250 million units.
• Finland actually has a mobile-phone-throwing championship.
• The addiction to cell phones is known as NOMOPHOBIA or NO MObile PHone PhoBIA and over 200,000 million people suffer from it.
• Don’t light up your screen in a dark theater.
• Don’t talk/text and drive.
• Keep a distance of at least 10 feet from the nearest person when talking on the phone.
• Put your phone on silent mode in theaters, restaurants, plays, performances and any other group setting where a ringtone may be bothersome.
• Ask your date if they would be bothered by you taking pictures of the food, scenery, etc
• End phone conversations when paying for purchases.
• Did you know that 57% of Americans seriously regret texts and social media posts? If good cell phone etiquette is about keeping a gentlemanly reputation, then this tip is key. Sure you can delete a social media post, but as long as it’s up it can cause damage.
• This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Blackberry 6210. According to Time Magazine, it was the first Blackberry to combine phone functionality—sans headset—with email, SMS and web-browsing capabilities. That may sound humdrum now, but the device’s long-term impact was enough for Time to rank the Blackberry 6210 among “The 50 Most Influential Gadgets of All Time.”
• The latter half of 2016 was the first time that a majority of American homes had wireless telephone service but no landline.
• As of 2018 Nearly 75% of 25- to 34-year-olds live in wireless-only households, versus about 24 percent of people 65 and older.
• About 71% of adults who rent live in wireless-only households. Meanwhile, only 43 percent of adults living in owner-occupied homes are wireless-only.
• Only 37.4% of adults in the Northeast are wireless-only. In the South, it’s 57.1 percent; in the West, 55.5 percent; and in the Midwest, 52.5 percent.
• Mobile phone subscribers, in millions, 2021 – Country rankings (top 10)
  • 1. China with 1732.66 million
  • 2. India with 1154.05 million
  • 3. Indonesia with 365.87 million
  • 4. USA with 361.62 million
  • 5. Russia with 246.57 million
  • 6. Brazil with 219.66 million
  • 7. Japan with 200.48 million
  • 8. Nigeria with 195.13 million
  • 9. Pakistan with 188.71 million
  • 10. Bangladesh with 181.02 million

Sources:

Days of the Year

National Today

Verizon

Real Men Real Style

The Global Economy

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

The Pulse via WHYY.org