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 Linda Thomas
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Linda is the morning news anchor and features reporter for KIRO Radio. This is her local news blog, with an emphasis on social media, technology, Northwest companies, education, parenting, and anything else that grabs her attention.

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Emotionally bonding with our smart phones

June 21, 2012 @ 3:45 am

Would you be more stressed out if you lost your wedding ring, or your smart phone? Which would send you into a bigger panic?

RingMuch as I love my iPhone, I'd cry if I lost my wedding ring because it's one-of-a-kind, but I'm the exception in a travel survey that found 77 percent of the people ranked losing their mobile phone as being more stressful than losing their wedding ring.

The only thing more stressful than losing a mobile device was losing a wallet.

A survey by Intel Corp. found that travelers have an emotional bond with their mobile devices to the point of feeling calmer and less stressed when have all their tech toys with them on vacation.

Almost half of U.S. travelers admitted they felt anxious traveling without a mobile computing device.

If you had to choose between packing your technology and packing your hairdryer, which would you choose?

Sixty-four percent of us have sacrificed their personal appearance by giving up hairdryers or styling tools, toiletries, sunscreen, workout clothes and even shoes in favor of making space in their luggage for their devices.

When we travel, about 20 percent of us have "tech envy" over other people's devices. We get a little snoopy too with more than half admitting they look at other people's screens.

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Comments (5)


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  • Ron_Spins wrote...
    Panic and sheer terror
    June 21, 2012 6:45 am
    I have seen people that have lost their phones at work and it's a major traumatic event..for them.Dropping the phone in the toilet is a big one too , that's where they go for some "alone time" with the phone.
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  • ElenaT wrote...
    Never been married
    June 21, 2012 9:20 am
    and have been through many phones...losing a phone sucks, but half the time you can just upgrade online and get a new one hugely discounted, and if you have an iPhone the whole thing is backed up on your computer. You spend about two days upset and then the new one comes in the mail and you forget all about it. I imagine losing a one-of-a-kind sentimental piece of jewelry would haunt you for a lifetime. I still have pangs or regret when I think about the pearl necklace I left in a tanning booth that my ex boyfriend had bought me. It was worth about the same as the iPhone I lost (and had to replace outright)that same year. Got over the phone when I upgraded to an even better one a few months later. This study baffles me.
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  • kata wrote...
    as an extraordinarily forgetful person
    June 21, 2012 9:34 am
    I've ceased to carry anything of value on me unless I absolutely need it. I've lost more wallets, purses and precious bits jewelry than I can count. Losing my mother's ring was the worst.... But, I've never had to worry about is an attachment to my phone. It so old that it still has a stubby little antennae on it and does nothing but make phone calls.
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  • Stevebo wrote...
    I love my iPhone...
    June 21, 2012 11:04 am
    But I don't feel overtly emotionally attached to it.

    I'd be upset if I lost or broke my phone... but it's replaceable... and the data on my phone has been backed up... so it would be more of an inconvenience to have to replace the phone, but not a life-ending situation.

    However, my wedding ring is a different story. In fact, on my honeymoon with my wife I somehow dropped my wedding ring in the sand on the beach where we were staying. I was in sheer panic trying to find it. Through a miracle, I managed to find it in the sand and was very grateful for that. My wedding ring has infinitely more symbolic value to me than an electronic device.

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  • Saltchucker wrote...
    I freak out when I misplace my coffee cup.
    June 21, 2012 2:27 pm
    If I lost my phone I'd cry for joy. Waaaayyyyy happier with out it.
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