A lot has been said and written about the ‘addiction’ to technology that the current generation is said to have. Repeatedly, studies are conducted which apparently prove that people can become addicted to social networking sites and gadgets and that separation from these devices can cause people to exhibit ‘withdrawal symptoms’. But I have always been skeptical of these studies simply because I am reluctant to apply a decidedly negative term such as ‘addiction’ to the way I feel about my iPhone.
But Martin Lindstrom’s intriguing article “You Love Your iPhone. Literally” offers an interesting take on the subject that I am very much inclined to believe. Mr. Lindstrom contends that our relationship to gadgets, specifically Apple gadgets, is not accurately described by the term ‘addiction’ and in fact, more resembles ‘love.’ He bases his argument on an experiment he conducted using fMRIs or functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Subjects in his experiment showed increased activity in the region of the brain associated with love and compassion when they heard or saw their iPhone. I personally own an iPhone 4 and alarmingly, I find that Mr. Lindstrom’s thesis is quite plausible. I feel that this discovery makes iPhones more dangerous than previously suspected because being in love with our phones suggests a deeper emotional impact than in the case of an addiction which may be purely chemical and more shallow.
In his thought-provoking article, Mr. Lindstrom accurately infers that just because ‘love’ is a positive emotion under other circumstances, it is not a good thing that we love our phones – I agree. ‘Love’ is an extremely powerful emotion – one that we should limit to living beings, in my opinion. Other findings Mr. Lindstrom mentions, including the ‘separation anxiety’ that iPhone owners may be experiencing when they accidentally leave their phone at home, have started me thinking hard about my relationship to my phone. Hopefully, the situation is not as alarming as the article suggests.
Abhniaya, I can relate to this post. I thought it was great that you brought this up because we live in such a technologically immersed society that we do “love” our gadgets. I carry my phone and my iPod with me on a daily basis, and I do love it so much, mostly because I correlate positive thoughts I get from seeing texts from friends and family.
Yea I agree, every time I get a new piece of technology I call it my baby. Gadgets require very gentle treatment nowadays; if you drop it that could be the end of it. But sometimes love can be an addiction as well. There are times when I’m just sleeping and I cant put my Ipod down for no reason at all.
Hi Derek, you bring up quite an interesting thought. I never connected the positive feelings I have towards my phone to the fact that it lets me stay in touch with the things and people I love. Seen this way, being in ‘love’ with our phones does not seem so irrational and alarming.
Thanks for your comment Devon, it’s quite interesting that you call your gadgets ‘baby.’ I can relate to the feeling of protectiveness towards new gadgets!!
I agree that we have a connection to our gadgets that resembles love. I know that I always need to have my phone with me and I always need to know that it is safe. Even if it isn’t turned on, I am more comfortable with it in my pocket than at home or somewhere else. This idea makes me wonder if the feeling does have to do with the way my phone connects me to my friends and family because it is important to me even when it is off. Maybe this is because the gadget is symbolic of that connection even when it isn’t on? Or maybe I just worry if I don’t have it with me because it was so expensive and i think it could be broken?
Haha, this has a problem for a long time now. No doubt, most of society is definitely in love with their phones. It is not just an addiction; people care for the appearance and protection of their phones along with its uses. I completely agree with you when you said that being in love with your phone is more fatal than just a simple addiction. It is true!
WOW! I completely agree and believe that the affection that people feel for their phones is love! I personally love my phone because i can do anything from it. While others die to check their facebooks and make a post, i use my phone for buying and selling stocks, downloading music, controlling my computer and thats only in the past 5 minutes!
So yeah, i think this is an extremely interesting article which basically makes it concrete that people do in fact love their phones.
I definitely agree that consumers nowadays are in love with their phones. I feel like this love for technology, however is taking away our love for each other. As long as I have my iPhone who cares about the next guy. That increasing attitude toward such objects is extremely alarming. As more and more developments are introduced who knows what will become of our precious Earth…
I couldn’t agree more with your assessment. Most iphone users are in love with their device, and unfortunately alot of people don’t get it
wow this is a very interesting article. its crazy that people can live humans and machines the same way