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Smartphones and their effect on behaviour
The use of smartphones can have an impact on a person's behaviour, new research has suggested. According to investigators at Tel Aviv University (TAU), individuals who own these devices are more willing to reveal private issues when in public spaces and do not show the same level of concern with regard to bothering others who share these areas.
Dr Tali Hatuka of TAU's Department of Geography and Dr Eran Toch of TAU's Department of Industrial Engineering looked at the affect smartphones have on beliefs relating to privacy, the use of public space and behavioural codes.
"We are entering a new phase of public and private spaces," Dr Hatuka noted.
They discovered those who use these handsets are also 70 per cent more likely than regular mobile phone owners to think their device provides them with a greater degree of privacy.
Smartphone owners reported that they felt more closely attached to the devices and would find themselves lost and tense without them in their pocket.
However, Chartered Psychologist Tom Stewart is cautious about these findings:
"I think we need to careful to distinguish correlation from cause and effect. Of course, smart phones are likely to change some behaviour - that's why most of us have them - but more significant effects may well be coincidental. Smart phone ownership probably correlates with people who want to email more anyway.£