8 signs that you are totally addicted to your phone

We often like to joke about just how addicted we are to our phones but according to science, it might be a more serious addiction than you think. The scientific term referring to this addiction is ‘nomophobia,’ a term coined from ‘no mobile phone.’ It is so bad that a recent study showed that most of us have at more than one-point experienced phantom vibrations. A huge part of our lives, the first thing most mobile users see when they wake up is their phones and the last thing they look at before they retire.

It might not sound so serious and bad after all it is just a phone right? Unfortunately, most of us live in a virtual reality with three quarters our lives buried in our handsets.

Here are 8 signs that can help tell if you are suffering from cellphone addiction:  1. You freak out when you don't have your phone. If you are overly aggressive or have panic attacks when you realize you do not have your phone, you might be suffering from nomophobia. You might even suspect someone is hiding it from you when it's all in your paranoia.  2. You cannot sleep without your phone. You might already be in bed and all tucked in but realizing you do not have your phone on you causes a slight panic attack and you immediately leave to go find it.  3. You always do a phone check. You could be holding your mobile phone in your hands but that does not prevent you from wondering where it might be and patting yourself down just find where it might be. 4. You dream about it. We tend to dream about the things that occupy our mind all the time. If you are having nightmares about losing your phone and frantically looking for it in your dream, then you might have a more serious problem than you think.  5. You break the rules for it. You might find yourself in a place that does not allow phones so instead you quickly peek at your notifications and update about how annoying it is that you are not allowed to have your phone with you. Of course, you then take a selfie so you can upload it afterwards. That right there is nomophobia. 6. You avoid places without cell service. It does not matter how good the restaurant is or whose concert you have tickets to, if the place does not have service then you will simply not go. You simply do not know how to enjoy yourself if your phone is not involved. 7. You can never leave your phone behind. You might be late for a meeting or a date but realizing you do not have your phone on you instantly makes you turn back. It does not matter how late that will make you, the phone can never be left behind. 8. You use it in between conversations. It does not matter how engaging or interesting the conversation is, you constantly find yourself staring down at the screen. If an argument comes up you feel the need to google it.