Saturday, October 1, 2011

Thought of marrying your iPhone recently?

According to Martin Lindstrom, people love their iPhones. Like in the same way they love their friends and families.

In a study he recently conducted, he used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) tests to observe his research subjects' brain activity as they were exposed to 16 different images and sounds of  iPhones. The most striking result, he writes, was
the flurry of activation in the insular cortex of the brain, which is associated with feelings of love and compassion. The subjects’ brains responded to the sound of their phones as they would respond to the presence or proximity of a girlfriend, boyfriend or family member.
He concludes:
In short, the subjects didn’t demonstrate the classic brain-based signs of addiction. Instead, they loved their iPhones.
Reading this article I can't help but wonder if Lindstrom knows what an iPhone does. An iPhone, you see, allows people to talk and write to each other from a distance. Maybe the reason subjects’ brains responded to the sound of their phones as they would respond to the presence of a girlfriend, boyfriend or family member is because, 90 percent of the time their phones ring, they are about to talk to their girlfriend, boyfriend or family member. Maybe people don't love their iPhones. Maybe people love those who call and text them on their iPhones.

Strangely, Lindstrom doesn't consider these explanations. Instead, he wildly jumps to the conclusion that
As we embrace new technology that does everything but kiss us on the mouth, we risk cutting ourselves off from human interaction. For many, the iPhone has become a best friend, partner, lifeline, companion and, yes, even a Valentine.
That's right. If you talk to too many people on your iPhone, you risk cutting yourself off from human interaction. And because you think of your girlfriend when you hear her custom ring tone, your phone has become your Valentine.

This is what happens when you try to interpret human behavior based on some blobs on an MRI scan.

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