Nomophobia - the fear or worry of being without your phone, or unable to use it - has been named word of the year 2018 by Cambridge Dictionary.
The word was chosen by a public vote, beating out contenders:
- 'gender gap' - "a difference between the way men and women are treated in society, or between what men and women do and achieve";
- 'ecocide' - "destruction of the natural environment of an area, or very great damage to it";
- and 'no-platforming' - "the practice of refusing someone an opportunity to make their ideas or beliefs known publicly, because you think these beliefs are dangerous or unacceptable".
"Your choice, nomophobia, tells us that people around the world probably experience this type of anxiety enough that you recognised it needed a name," Cambridge Dictionary said in a statement.
"Like many modern coinages, nomophobia is what's called a blend: a new word made up of syllables from two or more words, in this case 'no mobile phone phobia'."
The earliest use of the word nomophobia was 2008, the dictionary said, in a survey commissioned by the UK Post Office. It was added to the Cambridge Dictionary this year.
Earlier this month, Oxford Dictionary named 'toxic' as its word of the year. Dictionary.com opted for 'misinformation'.
Newshub.
