Can we survive without our mobile phones or smartphones?

A Stanford University survey confirmed that iPhones have become an indispensible part of lifestyles. Nearly one-quarter of those surveyed in the study said their iPhones felt like an extension of their brain or body (1). The results were interesting and they were as follow:

85% of iPhone owners used their phones as a watch

89% used it as their alarm clock

75% admitted they fell asleep with the iPhone in bed

69% said they were more likely to forget their wallet than their iPhone when leaving in the morning (1).

Most of the students that participated in this survey acknowledged their reliance on their iPhones. When they were asked to rank their dependence on their iPhones on a scale of one to five (five being addicted and one being not at all addicted) they responded accordingly:

10% acknowledged full iPhone addiction

34% ranked their dependence on their iPhones at four on the scale

6% were not addicted at all

32% admitted that they were concerned that they would become addicted in the future

41% also confessed that losing their iPhone would be ‘a tragedy’ (1)

Sherry Turkle is a faculty member of MIT who states that computer culture has grown familiar with the experiences of passion, dependency, and profound connections with artifacts. Although designers have focused on how computational devices will help people better manage their complex lives, users are beginning to see these devices as ‘extension of self’ and often a ‘second self’ (2).

Today, mobile phones and smartphones are not just for voice calls, text messaging, capturing photos and listening to music; individuals are constantly exploring the mobile internet to email and engage with social networking sites to keep in touch with their community. For most, it has become an inevitable part of our everyday lives to the extent that the boundaries between the offline and online worlds are vanishing. Due to the new generation of mobile internet services that leverage the social web, individuals are progressively living their lives on their mobile phones and they feel an increasingly emotional attachment with it.

The new generation of mobile internet is commonly referred to as Mobile 2.0. Many assume that Mobile 2.0 simply means bringing Web 2.0 to mobile devices, but it is much more that. Mobile 2.0 is where the social web meets mobility, it is the extensive use of user-generated content, it is about leveraging services on the web through mash-ups and delivering rich mobile user experience, but most of all it is about personalization (3). Internet access has expanded beyond the personal computer and individuals now have the option to mix and match networks, devices and content that bring a richer and more personalized experience, and for that reason we feel we need to have our mobile phones with us at all times. Our reliance on mobile devices has become prominent as we rely on it for our personal and business needs. It is hard to believe that someone in this day and age can live without a mobile phone.

1. Dan Hope (2010), ‘iPhones can be addicting, says new survey’, viewed 17 October 2010

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35768107/

2. Sherry Turkle, 2004, ‘Wither psychoanalysis in computer culture’, Readings in the philosophy of technology, pp. 415-429

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

3. John Strickland, ‘How Web 3.0 Will Work’, viewed 10 October 2010,

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/web-30.htm/printable