Dr. Kushlev’s paper, “Antecedents and Consequences of Smartphone Self-Extension,” explores the unanswered questions of how smartphone self-extension (the extent to which we regard our possessions as parts of ourselves) develops overtime and what it is able to predict. The psychological connection between mobile media and the self has long been studied with cross-sectional designs, but this study utilized a longitudinal approach to discern the relationship overtime. For example, Dr. Kushlev found that frequent smartphone use during boring situations most aptly predicted identity self-extension. In other words, using our phones when we’re bored represents the most readily available way to express our identities in boring situations. Think about it, when we’re bored, we’ll scroll through our favorite Pinterest board, watch a YouTube video, laugh at a funny meme, or text our best friend. All of these things may very well represent expressions of our identities.
This paper has recently been accepted with very positive reviews at the National Communication Association Conference! The NCA “promotes the widespread appreciation of the importance of communication in public and private life, the application of competent communication to improve the quality of human life and relationships, and the use of knowledge about communication to solve human problems.” This is a very promising acknowledgement of Dr. Kushlev’s work! To read the full preprint paper and the rest of the findings, click here.
