(Image from Kaspersky website)

Staying connected is now an obligatory part of showing you care. According to a study from Kaspersky Lab, connectivity is now a vital part of our duty to family, friends and loved ones. The research shows that when people can’t use their devices, their most common worries are that family and friends will be concerned about them (51%) and that they will not be able to help a family member if something happens (45 percent).

Imagine this: you are meeting your partner for an important anniversary one evening. But suddenly you realize you’re late. You need to let your partner know – you don’t want them to feel unloved or abandoned – but just when you’re about to contact them, your phone runs out of battery. You’re left unconnected, and you know your important anniversary isn’t going to go well…

Concerns about not being connected, and what this means for our love-lives, are often justified. The impact of not having a working connection can range from simply missing a date (21 percent), to longer-term problems, with one-in-six (15 percent) admitting to having issues with their loved ones as a result of their device running out of battery, being misplaced or getting stolen.

And it’s not just relationships that are damaged – many of us mess up without our connected devices to guide us through daily life. Out of the survey respondents that have had a connectivity issue, a fifth (21 percent) have missed out on an education/business opportunity, 16 percent have got missed out on a social opportunity like a party, as a result of their device not keeping them online.

Despite their dependency on staying connected, 18 percent of people do nothing to keep their devices working and online, only 34 percent control their battery levels and just one-in-five (22 percent) regularly check their device’s health.

“Connectivity plays a big part in our daily lives. As the research shows, without access to their devices, people mess up – they miss out on opportunities, get lost, and worry about each other. What’s clear is that not being connected can also have a lasting impact on our relationships – because if we mess up there, it’s the heart that can get hurt. When people’s attitude to device safety is lax, that’s exactly what can happen – because couples expect each other to respond, parents expect to be able to instantly find out where their children are, and friends don’t expect to go ignored. It is vital that more measures are taken to protect our devices better, and to maintain connectivity,” says Dmitry Aleshin, VP for product marketing, Kaspersky Lab.