Nomophobia – the irrational fear of being out of mobile phone contact. When I found this little gem of information while researching this column, I’ll admit I just had to laugh. The sad part is, I know several people who probably suffer from this debilitating affliction. Cell service goes down, whether for five minutes, five hours or five days, and it’s as if the entire world has come to a tragic end for these poor souls. What I found even more humorous – there’s actually a website devoted to the treatment of nomophobia, for those seeking information on how to deal with this particular anxiety disorder.

I guess you could say that I’m a touch old-fashioned when it comes to cell phones (and modern technology in general, I suppose). Ten years ago I was adamant I’d never own one of the damn things. In my mind, I just didn’t see the point, a land-line was just fine with me. If I wasn’t home it was no big deal, that’s what answering machines are for. In addition, I simply didn’t like the idea that people could reach me at any time of day, no matter where I was or what I might be doing. It almost seemed too intrusive in some way.

Fast-forward to today and I, of course, own a cell phone. Doesn’t everybody? And while the newer models sport all sorts of gadgets and applications, mine is what you could, I imagine, call a relic of the past. No touch screen, flashlight, keyboard, high definition video, global positioning system, can opener or Swiss Army Knife for me. Put it this way – I won’t be multi-tasking while waiting in traffic anytime soon. In fact, my phone doesn’t even have text messaging. That, however, was a conscious decision.

I don’t like texting, I never have and I’m quite sure I never will. This, of course, from the guy who said he’d never own a cell phone in the first place. I guess I shouldn’t make generalizations such as that, but hey, at least I have an opinion and I’m not scared to share it.

I simply find texting to be annoying and, in some cases, quite rude. Every time I’m involved in a conversation with a friend, or group of friends, and someone “interrupts” the discussion to receive or send a text, I want to scream. In addition, I just don’t see the point in typing a message on a device that, miraculously, also serves as a phone. I guess what I saying is, if I want to talk with someone, I’ll just call them. If they want to talk to me, they can do the same. Sounds logical to me yet, as we all know, the world isn’t entirely logical these days.