Phone-less in Orchard Road, I discover the new anxiety: ‘Nomophobia’

The flipside of being untethered is the discovery of things I would have ordinarily missed.

Nomophobia, a portmanteau of “No”, “Mobile” and “Phobia”, is the thoroughly modern fear of losing phone connectivity. ST PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: GIN TAY
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Recently, I surrendered my iPhone to the Apple Store to replace the battery. It would take a couple of hours, the Apple team optimistically told me.

I went back at the appointed hour, after loitering in Orchard Road. Meanwhile, the technician had diagnosed a wonky display and thought it should be fixed. He needed extra time.

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