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iPhone users find it addictive, says poll
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Tuesday, 09 March 2010 13:26
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SAN FRANCISCO – Is the Apple iPhone addicting?
Definitely, says a new Stanford University survey.
The survey, which confirms what many have suspected all along, was administered to 200 students with iPhones, 70% of whom had owned their smartphones for less than a year.
The most interesting trend was how quickly the iPhone became an indispensable part of the students' lifestyles, and how many of them openly acknowledged they would be lost without it.
Versatile device
Nearly 85% of the iPhone owners used the phone as their watch, and 89% used it as their alarm clock.
In fact, 75% admitted to falling asleep with the iPhone in bed with them, and 69% said they were more likely to forget their wallet than their iPhone when leaving in the morning.
Many students admit how much they rely on their iPhones. When asked to rate their dependence on the iPhone on a scale of one to five - five being addicted and one being not at all addicted - 10% of the students acknowledged full addiction to the device, 34% ranked themselves as a four on the scale, and only 6% said they weren't addicted at all.
And among those who didn't consider themselves completely addicted, 32% expressed worry that they would become addicted someday.
Close connection
Furthermore, 15% of those surveyed said the iPhone was turning them into a media addict; 30% called it a "doorway into the world"; 25% found the phone "dangerously alluring" and 41% said losing their iPhone would be "a tragedy."
Professor Tanya Luhrmann, the Stanford anthropology professor who oversaw the survey, told the San Jose Mercury News, "One of the most striking things we saw in the interviews was just how identified people were with their iPhone.
"It was not so much with the object itself, but it had so much personal information that it became a kind of extension of the mind and a means to have a social life. It just kind of captured part of their identity."
Part of that identity isn't just being seen as an iPhone owner, but actually perceiving the iPhone as a part of their selves.
Extension of self
Nearly a quarter of those surveyed reported that the iPhone felt like an extension of their brain or body.
There was also a tendency among the survey participants to anthropomorphise their iPhones and treat it differently than other electronics.
For example, 3% of the students said they don't let anyone touch their iPhone; another 3% have named their iPhone; 9% have patted their iPhone and 8% admitted that they have at some time thought "My iPod is jealous of my iPhone."
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