Is Your Smartphone a Part of Your Body?

I'm accused of being overly observant and my background as a social scientist doesn't help.  Coupled with the fact that I loved reading Freakonomics (& Super ...) and I work with data – so inevitably I've conducted hundreds of my own experiments (mostly in my head). The one I am having the most fun with is observing how people interact with their Smartphones.

So I have taken the liberty of classifying them ... 

1) Death-grippers - Their smartphones never leave their hands. Even when their phones are off they twirl and toss them around. It almost appears that their phones have become security blankets or an extension of their bodies. These are also the folks who most likely to be in love with their phones. Their phones have become more than a gateway to the internet - they have become a gateway to social interaction - even if they are standing in a room full of people.

2) Hide and Seekers (When in doubt pull it out!)- These folks don't hold their phones all of the time, they take time to put their phones away after using them. But if left with nothing to do (a few minutes on a subway ride) or a social challenging moment, they instinctively reach into their pocket and pull out their phone. They switch the phone on (obviously not answer a call in a subway tunnel) - glance at the time or scroll to a message - then away it goes. They unconsciously repeat this process over and over again.

3) As Needed - These folks only reach for the phone when they need it. Their phones connect them to their REAL lives - unlike 1 & 2, where their phones are their lives. In social settings their phones remain hidden - they tend to have more friends on social networks than 1 & 2's.

Take a look around - I am sure you can identify people you know who fit in to these groups.