IPhone Therefore I Am

Isn't that a clever title?  No, I didn't come up with it myself; I saw it in a United in-flight magazine.  And, OMG, when I arrived at my destination, I realized my phone was in the purse I'd taken to work, not in the one I had with me  Someone at the conference asked if I felt naked, and I had to admit I didn't!  What did that mean?  Am I out of touch?  Do I have fine motor problems affecting my thumbs?  I think it means I actually like speaking to people face to face--not on Facetime--but in person.  Weird.

Back to the article I read on the plane.  It cites a study in the Journal of Computer Mediated Communication which found that "we're so attached to our phones that being away from them can cause a form of separation anxiety, with real-world physiological and cognitive consequences."  Perhaps I don't suffer this form of anxiety because a large part of my life was lived with actual dial telephones.  Can you guess how old I am?  Please don't.

Not just physiological consequences, but life-threatening ones.  Will this man get hit by the bus?  Remember the woman who fell into a fountain when talking on her phone as she strolled through a mall? 

How about this one?  Gotta start 'em young. I bet her first word was "apple."  By the time this baby is two, she'll know how to get in touch with all her "phone friends," but what about her ability to engage in activities on the playground?  Maybe not as well-developed.

The article I read on the plane ended this way:  "...iPhones are capable of becoming an extension of ourselves such that when separated, we experience a lessening of 'self,' and a negative physiological state.  Losing your phone, in a sense, is tantamount to losing your head."

What do you think?  I'd love some comments.