It is not an ordinary fear — according to a survey conducted in February, 66 percent of 1,000 people believe they may have it. It is nomophobia.

Nomophobia is the fear of being without or losing a cell phone. Those who have this phobia seem to experience immense anxiety or nervousness when they are without their cell phones, Vanessa Miller, instructor in psychology, said.

The survey, conducted in the United Kingdom and sponsored by SecurEnvoy, found women were more fearful than men of being without a cell phone.

Junior psychology major Lacey Lovern said she felt that she fell within that category.

The last time she thought she lost her phone she could feel herself beginning to worry, and anxiety set in, Lovern said. She would usually rummage through her home until she could find it.

Senior biology major Cyrus Elahi said the last time he lost his phone he experienced some anxiety. His anxiousness about his phone was over the concern of not being able to be contacted, Elahi said.

He recalled the last time he left his phone at his parents’ house while on a visit. When he returned home, he realized his phone was missing, but he was not nervous so much as upset he had lost it, he said.

SecurEnvoy, a company that specializes in digital passwords, found 77 percent of people between the ages of 18 and 24 were more likely to label themselves as nomophobic.

Miller said that statistic did not come as a shock to her because that demographic is constantly on its cell phones.

Without cell phones, young people feel disconnected from the world, Miller said. She used to have her phone on or around her all the time when she was younger but has gradually grown out of it, she said. She said she believed nomophobia manifested itself out of fear of an unforeseen consequence.

Senior biology major Katie Blakely said she did not like being without her phone because she felt she would not be able to contact anyone if there were some kind of emergency.

She once forgot her phone at home while on a road trip, Blakely said.

“I felt completely disconnected from the world, and I was for sure going to crash,” she said.

Lovern said she felt a deep connection to her phone because of all she can do with it. It is part of every aspect of her life.

“I use it for Facebook. I use it to check my email. I use it to text,” she said. “It’s not something that I use for just talking on the phone and texting. It’s involved with almost everything.”

Her phone became such a driving force in her life that she had to put it in her backpack during class, she said. When she had it out during class, she was tempted to text and play around on her phone, Lovern said.

Blakely said her phone was a safety blanket — if she got in trouble she would be able to contact someone. People of this generation were so used to having easy access to one another that the moment they are without that access, they begin to get a little panicked, she said.

Nomophobia has yet to be classified as a clinical condition and currently has no treatment, but Miller said she believed there would be more information available on the subject in the future.