Barker (2000) defined the conception we have of ourselves as a personal identity. The iPhone in its early stages of taking over the world in technology provided me with the ability to express my identity. The iPhone has provided connection, communication, and knowledge that contribute greatly to personal identity. The iPhone has allowed me to have access to information, engage in social interaction, and personal safety. In a way, the iPhone provided me with a sense of self: the iPhone was an object of comfort that allowed me to be connected to everything happening in society through the safety of a screen. I was able to communicate throughout my teenage years, express my feelings and thoughts with the world through a new domain of communication, the iPhone was the creator of apps that further introduced me to social media. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Many believe that we have begun to see our smartphones as an extension of ourselves, I believe this was true for me in my teenage years with unlocking my iPhone being very similar to unlocking my mind. We identify more and more with our phones, we increasingly see them and the digital life we lead as constitutional factors of our psychological life. Barker (2000) stated that the expectations and opinions of others form our social identity. Being in a group is part of being human; plays a very important role in everything we do, including the brand groups we may belong to. Being part of the iPhone group helped establish my social identity. When I was young I used consumption to assert my status within a social group: cell phones were seen as an object for adults. I believe that by purchasing an iPhone I was trying to look more mature and older and conform to the ever-growing technical society. Being socially identified with someone who owned an iPhone, I believed it showed wealth and superiority, I had the best phone of the time and everyone wanted to try it. The situation slowly worsened as the iPhone started to be updated annually and more and more people had iPhones. Overall in society I didn't stand out, but it wasn't common to have an iPhone at twelve years old. Within my group, I was the first to own an iPhone, the first with a smartphone which I think was the only way to stand out. Being an iPhone owner is not distinct, most of the world owns an iPhone or some type of smartphone, so it is wrong to state that I was making a distinction. I may have thought I stood out the moment Apple first launched the iPhone, but I was just like everyone else in society trying to get on the smartphone bandwagon. When I received my first iPhone I believed it was an object I could use to express my individuality but upon reflection I was a pseudo-individual. It didn't really matter what phone I had and at age twelve I probably didn't even need it. The commercialized and mass-produced smartphone was something I thought I needed. The iPhone wasn't the first smartphone but it was the smartphone to have. The iPhone was a false need, something forced on me by certain social interests. The consumer expresses his individuality in a certain sense, at first glance the iPhone is not an object of individuality with its basic appearance of a large screen and glass back but when in the hands of the consumer it becomes his. Consumers personalize it through the apps they choose to download, the.
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