Can a Smartphone Be Considered a Body Part?
Sure, we are in love with our smartphones. But how far does this love go?
Would you say your phone is equally important as a bone in your body?
If you answered this question with “no”, then you are probably not part of the generation Y, which, according to Cisco, thinks that smartphones are an extra appendage to their body. 40 percent of Gen Y respondents to Cisco’s 2012 Connected World Technology Report said that would feel like some part of their body was missing if they did not have access to their phone.
Other results included findings that almost 90 percent of respondents share and store photos online, 81 percent show different identities online and offline, 57 percent share their email address if they receive some sort of discount in return, and 66 percent said they do not appreciate being tracked by employers.
Of course these findings might get marketers excited, but there are challenges as well. For example, employers will have evolve with this trend and address problems and opportunities. Today, your addiction to your phone and the desire to share your life with the rest of the world could easily get you in hot water, but in the future, you might be able to claim that your phone is really your 207th bone in your body and Facebooking, sharing and tweeting, as a result, is a basic need in your life.
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Wolfgang Gruener is an experienced professional in digital strategy and content, specializing in web strategy, content architecture, user experience, and applying AI in content operations within the insurtech industry. His previous roles include Director, Digital Strategy and Content Experience at American Eagle, Managing Editor at TG Daily, and contributing to publications like Tom's Guide and Tom's Hardware.
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simmons33 Didn't read th article as it seems stupid. But once they somehow intergrade the technology where all I gotta do is think to text someone, then Maybe lolReply -
dxwarlock No, and not being part of Gen Y has nothing to do with it.Reply
People as far back as I can remember, ALWAYS wear clothes. And I cant think of anyone off the top of my head, regardless of age, that even though they couldn't go without clothes on a daily basis, considers them a body part.
I wear a ballcap EVERYDAY. (laziness started it from not wanting to fuss with my hair, and now is part of what people assume to see me in, I get asked where it is if I don't have it). But its not 'part of my body"
So i think they are mixing up, much like going out without clothes or me without my hat, "I would feel as I am missing something all day" with "I feel I'm missing a body part".
Also I thought Gen Y was MORE tech savvy...but this "57 percent share their email address if they receive some sort of discount in return"...seems to indicate they are not. -
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reprotected rantocIf the user is less iNtelligent than the device, why not consider it their brain? =POH I GET IT. iNReply
For everyone who thinks they are above average, they probably don't realize that they have a larger dependency to a computer and the Internet's hivemind than they do with a fresh new idea or opinion they can think of in their head.