Martin Lindstrom, branding guru, has done several tests of consumers to test their responses to their iPhones and the results were published a few days ago in the New York Times.
When babies between the ages of 14 and 20 months were handed Blackberries, their first action was to swipe the screen with their little fingers to bring it to life.
But most striking of all 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.
In short, the subjects didn’t demonstrate the classic brain-based signs of addiction. Instead, they loved their iPhones.
Lindstrom wonders if this is such a good thing. Whether it is or not, it’s the world we live in and the way we interact with our technology as they become cognitive extensions of ourselves.
