Sadie Plant: From the Stone Age to the Phone Age

[anna balint]

·	From the Stone Age to the Phone Age
http://www.corporate-ir.net/ireye/ir_site.zhtml?ticker=MOT&script=410&layout=-6&item_id=215272

Here are the results from a detailed anthropological/sociological/lifestyle study of how the mobile phone is changing 
our lives, based on research in 8 cities worldwide, undertaken by Dr. Sadie Plant, and commissioned by Motorola.


·	" Personal Power: Cell phones have given people a new-found personal power, enabling unprecedented 
mobility and allowing them to conduct their business wherever they go. 
·	Gender Differences: Females tend to value their cell phone as a means of expression and social 
communication, while males tend to use it as an interactive toy. However, evidence suggests that males are becoming 
far more chatty and communicative as a result of cell phone use. 
·	Male Status Symbols: Men have a tendency to display their cell phones more proudly, using them to display 
their aggression in front of other men, and almost like a mating ritual in front of women. 
·	Stereotypes: Dr. Plant identified six distinctive types of cell phone users based upon common traits and 
characteristics, and compared these types with six different kinds of birds. Owls, for example, tend to keep their cell 
phone use to a minimum, making and taking only necessary calls, while starlings tend to be more aggressive, pushing 
their way through crowds while talking loudly on their cell phones. 
·	Innies and Outies: There are two distinct types of cell phone users -- "innies" are quiet, discreet and 
unobtrusive with their mobile conversations, while "outies" are louder and less concerned with the perceptions of 
people around them. 
·	Secret Phones: Many cell phone users keep a secret second phone to conduct love affairs or clandestine 
business deals, or even just as a hotline between friends. 
·	The Thumb Generation: Texting has had a profound effect on the way teenagers use their thumbs in some 
regions. Because they are used to tapping out numbers and messages with their thumbs, they now point and even ring 
doorbells with their thumb instead of their forefinger. "

Obtain the full report by email at sue.frederick at motorola.com