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.
Not surprised or disturbed. As someone who just spent a few weeks with a 2004-era Nokia flip phone, I can say I was no less excited to hear my phone ring when it wasn’t that lighthearted xylophone-y Apple tune, or to feel it buzz in my back pocket (even if a few seconds later it turned out to be a Montgomery County weather alert) because I was thinking of the people who were causing it to buzz, not the mangled piece of plastic crap that I had to deal with to talk to them.
