TOUCH Issue 8: Technology Hijacking Biology
relationship with the virtual world.
Brasel & Gops note that touchscreen technology significantly
influences the way we interact
with and use the Internet.
Ta b l e t s a n d S m a r t p h o n e s
account for a considerable
amount of online purchases,
and heavily influence the way
we feel about a product, service
or experience.
This is where
the biology of
touch
comes
in, and it’s why
touch-screen
technology
is
here to stay.
begun the process of owning it
(mentally).
The psychology of ownershipthrough-touch translates well
to a touch-screen when we
physically place our finger on
the image of it. When compared
to a desktop click-interaction,
touch-screen interactions create
greater feelings of connection
to the item, and a
deeper sense of
what it would be
like to own it.
“In the human brain, there
is only a small degree
of difference between a
simulated event and an
actual event.”
In the human
brain, there is
only a small
degree of difference between
a simulated event and an
actual event. Oftentimes the
measurable results are quite
comparable. When we touch an
object in a store, we are far more
likely to buy that product (or at
least something at the store)
because we have interacted
with it to some degree and
therefore we have already
Not only do
touch screens
help us feel like
we already own
a particular
product, the
phone itself feels
more like an ext ension of o u rselves. Where desktops and
laptop computers are not often
associated with a sense of self,
tablets and Smartphones are.
In some instances they become
our “window to the world” where
we get to participate in an
environment that is artificial but
made all the more real through
tactile involvement.
Greater connection and involvement is something we all crave, as
social creatures. We are hard-wired to find our place in the world and
interact with it through touch. The biology of touch explains why we
all love our touch-screen devices [perhaps] a little too much.
Drew.