World's Biggest Fear: Losing One's Mobile

London: Guess what's the biggest phobia in the world? It is nomophobia - the fear of being without your mobile, says a new study which has found that approximately 66 percent of people are affected by it.

In fact, the number of people afflicted with nomophobia - 'no mobile phone phobia' - revealed in the study in the UK shows a rise from a similar research conducted four years ago, where 53 percent of people admitted the fear of losing their phone.

In the latest study, of the 1,000 people surveyed in the UK, 66 percent said they felt the fear, the 'Daily Mail' newspaper reported.

Young adults - aged between 18 and 24 - tended to be the most addicted to their mobile phones, with 77 percent unable to stay apart for more than a few minutes, and those aged between 25 and 34 followed at 68 percent.

The study showed that people on average check their phone 34 times a day, and 75 percent of us use the phone in the bathroom - with many people saying it is the modern equivalent of the newspaper.

Andy Kemshall, co-founder of SecurEnvoy that commissioned the study, "A reversal on the 2008 findings is that, back then, it was men that were more afflicted yet today it is women. I'd be inclined to draw the conclusion that, perhaps because more men have two phones, they're less likely to misplace both and therefore be left phoneless."

Other findings showed that, even if 49 percent of people get upset if their messages and texts were viewed by a partner, most don't bother with securing our mobile phones, with only 46 percent of them using some kind of lock code, and just 10 percent adding encryption to their data.

Kemshall added, "With 58 percent of the respondents using at least one device for business use, this lack of security is a worrying trend that needs addressing."