Smartphone Users Less Aware of Lack of Privacy in Public

Would you feel discriminated against if you and your phone were confined to a "smartphone users" public space?

In a survey, researchers in Tel Aviv discovered that smartphones are altering our perception of privacy in public. They found that smartphone users are "70 percent more likely than regular cell phone users to believe that their phones afford them a great deal of privacy."

However, the reality is that our behavior in public reveals much more about our private issues than we tend to realize. For example, smartphone users are much more willing to talk on their phone in public than regular phone users who often delay their phone calls until they have privacy. Smartphone users also care less about their immediate environment than traditional cell phone users.

"We are entering a new phase of public and private spaces," said Tali Hatuka, a researcher at Tel Aviv University. She suggested that the design of public spaces would have to evolve with our behavior and mentioned separating smartphone users from non-smartphone users, similar to smokers and nonsmokers. Future research into the topic will focus on the detailed interaction of people with their smartphones.

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