truths

STEP TWO: GIRL/PHONE RELATIONSHIP

GIRLAPPROVED PHONES

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In this step we take a deep look at the relationship be-tween a girl and her phone. How does a modern girl relate to her phone? How is that relationship changing? How are phones supporting her new relationship and

where do they fall short?

STEP TWOTHE GIRL PHONE RELATIONSHIP

WHAT CULTURAL SHIFTS ARE

CHANGING A GIRLS CELLPHONE USE?

WHAT ARE THE FEATURES

SHE RELATES TOAND VALUES?

WHAT ARE THE FUNCTIONS

THE PHONE PLAYS IN A GIRLS LIFE?

GIRLAPPROVED CELLPHONES

GIRLS RELY ON THEIR PHONES FOR FREEDOMCONCLUSION ONE

STEP TWO: THE GIRL-PHONE RELATIONSHIP

For girls, phones are cornerstones of their independence. Phones give girls social independence, and allows us to maintain

relationships outside the people we interact with everyday. We like to deal with our feelings as soon as possible so we can get

social support even when we are physically apart from important people. We don’t have to wait around to talk on the phone. We

can talk for as long as want in places where people won’t hear us. We can physically be somewhere else, but still stay socially

connected to our friends. When we’re obliged to do something we can still do the things that we want to do because our phones

gives us the chance to. Otherwise we’d be cut off from all the happenings with our friends.

The phone is not our link to only our friends. Many girls are from divorced families and the phone is the primary link to the other

parent. They have to manage that parent relationship independently and the phone makes it more possible.


GIRLS RELY ON THEIR PHONES FOR SOCIAL FREEDOM


TRUTH #01EMOTIONAL

HAVING A CELLPHONE

MEANS HAVING

EMOTIONAL COMFORT.

NOT JUST FROM FEELING

SAFE WHEN I AM ALONE,

BUT TALKING TO PEOPLE

WHEN WE ARE UPSET.

GIRLAPPROVED CELLPHONESSTEP TWO: THE GIRL-PHONE RELATIONSHIP

TRUTH #02EMOTIONAL

WHEN SOMETHING IS

TROUBLING US, WE NEED

TO TALK ABOUT IT.

PHONES ALLOW US TO

RELIEVE THAT URGENCY

INSTEAD OF LETTING IT

STAY REPRESSED.


TRUTH #03EMOTIONAL

MY PHONE MEANS I CAN

ALWAYS WORK THROUGH

MY FEELINGS WITH MY

CLOSE FRIENDS, EVEN

WHEN I AM STUCK AT

HOME WITH MY PARENTS.


TRUTH #04EMOTIONAL

WE HAVE A HOUSE PHONE

BUT THAT IS NOT SAFE.

SOMEONE CAN LISTEN OR

TELL ME TO GET OFF THE

PHONE. MY CELLPHONE IS

ALWAYS THERE AND IT IS

ALSO PRIVATE.


TRUTH #05EMOTIONAL

GIRLS FROM DIVORCED

HOMES NEED THE PHONE

TO MANAGE TWO SETS

OF FAMILIES. TALKING

TO THE PARENT WE DON’T

LIVE WITH MAKES IT LIKE

THEY ARE IN OUR LIVES.



PERSONAL STORYMy parents are divorced, but my phone lets me keep a relationship with

my dad, even when I live with my mom. My parents do not get along

well, so they are very awkward. Without my phone, it wouldn’t have

been possible to keep talking with my dad and his family. Phones let me

manage these relationships and avoid the extra stress and conflict.


TRUTH #06EMOTIONAL


I EVEN SLEEP WITH THE

PHONE IN MY BED...

PEOPLE ARE JUST A

SECOND AWAY.


BIG LESSONGIRLS RELATE TO THE PHONE

IN TERMS OF ITS SOCIAL IMPACTOVER ITS TECH ABILITIES

IT’S NOT ALL ABOUT THE EXTRA FEATURES. A PHONE IS STILL

MOST IMPORTANTLY A COMMUNICATION DEVICE

SOCIAL FREEDOM


PHONES GIVE GIRLS PHYSICAL INDEPENDENCECONCLUSION TWO


Another type of independence is physical independence (safety). We can go places where we never could before. When we were

younger, parents wouldn’t let us go to places like the mall, other neighborhoods or late night outings. Phones are providing girls

with safety and they help us convince parents to let us go places that they would never let us go before. Without the phone, we

wouldn’t be as brave as we are. We won’t be able to do so many life expanding things we do today. We would be limited in

where we went and the time we went there.


GIRLS RELY ON THEIR PHONES FOR FREEDOM


TRUTH #07EMOTIONAL


OUR YOUNGER SIBLINGS

WERE ABLE TO DO SO

MANY MORE THINGS

EARLIER BECAUSE THEY

GOT THEIR PHONES

BEFORE I DID.

TRUTH #08EMOTIONAL

GIRLS ARE MORE BRAVE

NOW THAT THEY HAVE

THEIR OWN PHONES. WE

DON’T HAVE TO RELY ON

FAMILY MEMBERS OR

FRIENDS TO BE PHYSICALLY

AROUND US TO FEEL SAFE.


TRUTH #09EMOTIONAL

WHEN WE ARE ALONE

HAVING A PHONE IS

COMFORTING. WE KNOW

THAT WE’RE ONLY A CALL

AWAY FROM HELP.


TRUTH #10EMOTIONAL

WHEN WE’VE GOT A

PHONE WITH US, WE

DON’T MIND GOING TO

NEIGHBORHOODS OR

CITIES WE WOULD NEVER

HAVE GONE TO ALONE.



PERSONAL STORY“Sometimes when it’s late at night, and I’m driving back home,

it can be a little scary. That’s when I whip out the phone and call

my friends. When another human voice is with me, I feel a little

bit safer. That’s why I always call my friends, and they call me.“


TRUTH #11EMOTIONAL

WHEN WE DON’T HAVE

OUR PHONES WITH US, WE

FEEL VULNERABLE AND

LOST. WHEN OUR

BATTERY DIES WE FEEL

INSTANTLY VULNERABLE.


TRUTH #12EMOTIONAL

NOW WE DON’T HAVE TO

WORRY WHEN DRIVING OR

GOING TO THE DELI OR

GOING TO DANGEROUS

LOCATIONS AT 10 PM.



PERSONAL STORY“One time, I left my phone at home. I got into some car trouble

along the way, and where I was, there were no pay phones. Pay

phones are slowly becoming obsolete and they’re being taken

away. When things like this happen, it means we’re going to be

stuck.”



BIG LESSONCREATE A POWER

MANAGEMENT SYSTEM THAT

WON’T LEAVE GIRLS IN A

STICKY SITUATION.

ADD PHONE FEATURES THAT

MAKE GIRLS FEEL DOUBLY

SAFE.

PHYSICAL FREEDOM


PHONES ARE NOW DEMANDING AND OUT OF CONTROLCONCLUSION THREE


At first all the phone gave were positive feelings of freedom, but that is changing rapidly. The amount of pressure that a girl feels

today to constantly network and communicate is overwhelming. Too many friends, too much sharing, too many apps, and too

many social networks to be a part of (Flickr, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, foursquare, yelp, etc.) Even on a personal level, people

are expecting us to be accessible all of the time, on all of our networks. Trend groups always say that this is exactly what we want,

that we love sharing and connecting all the time. But this is really not the case. We feel way too much pressure, and we are really

unhappy about this situation. It’s frustrating when people have the expectation for us to be connected all the time.

On top of all these connections coming to us, we also have to learn all these new platforms, we have the pressure to update our

status all the time, learn how to download them, and fix them, and all kinds of other operations to keep up with these new

technologies. All of this demand is going to cause a blacklash to social media.


PHONES ARE DEMANDING AND OUT OF CONTROL


TRUTH #01SOCIAL MEDIA

OUR PHONE IS BECOMING

MORE AND MORE

DEMANDING OF US. READ

THIS, CHECK THAT, ANSWER

NOW.. BLAH BLAH BLAH



FACEBOOK STATUSES AND

TWITTER JUST MAKE

EVERYTHING WAY MORE

CRAZY. THERE IS CONSTANTLY

STUFF BLASTING THROUGH

MY PHONE



“LOOK AT ME, LOOK AT

ME!” WE GET STRESSED

WHEN OUR PHONES ARE

ALWAYS MESSAGING US

ABOUT EVERY LITTLE

THING.



SOMETIMES WE NEED A

LITTLE BIT OF PEACE AND

QUIET. I TRY TO GO OUT

WITH ONE FRIEND, AND

ALL MY OTHER ONES ARE

STILL TEXTING ME.




SOME GIRLS ARE STARTING

TO EXPERIMENT WITH

TAKING FACEBOOK OFF

THEIR PHONE: IT WAS

JUST TOO MUCH

COMMUNICATION TO

HANDLE.




WE CAN’T BE SHARING

AND TALKING ALL THE

TIME. I NEED TO HAVE A

LIFE. I NEED TO BE LIVING

AND DOING, SO I HAVE

THINGS WORTH SHARING.



I NEED A WAY TO SCALE

UP AND DOWN HOW

MUCH I WANT TO ENGAGE

IN MY PHONE, AND WHAT

I WANT TO LET THROUGH.

TODAY IT IS FULL ON OR

OFF.



BIG LESSONSOCIAL MEDIA

WE DON’T LIVE TO SHARE, DON’TBELIEVE WHAT THEY SAY IN ALLTHE TREND REPORS.

CREATE TOOLS TO SUPPORT THEISSUES CREATED WITH TO MUCHCONSTANT COMMUNICATION


WE’RE CONNECTING MORE, BUT WE’RE LOSING MEANINGCONCLUSION FOUR


Today we have increasing ways to connect through an increasing range of networks. These increases are incredible. The phone is

at the center of all our relationships. One strange thing we have recently started to experience is that although we are connecting

more, many of our communications are becoming meaningless. We love communication, but we also need to be intellectually

stimulated by the things that people say. Why is this important? Why do we need to know exactly where you’re going or what

you’re doing? With the amount of communication that is coming to us, people don’t take the time to really learn how to craft a

message. We appreciate the effort that people put into expressing something. It’s the difference we feel when we open a letter

and a text message.

Girls love texture. Texture consists of all the details: the little imperfections in handwriting, font type, color, size, the adjectives we

use to describe something, the way our message looks aesthetically, the types of emoticons that we use, and how well its looks

match what we’re trying to say. All that is being taken away in favor of how many people we are talking to. How can we ever

express ourselves with a 160 character limit?


WE’RE CONNECTING MORE BUT LOSING MEANING



TRUTH #01EXPRESSION

CELLPHONES ARE HELPING

US EXPRESS OURSELVES AT

THE EXACT MOMENTS WE

FEEL THINGS. THIS

INSTANT EMOTIONAL

OUTLET IS VERY

GIRL FRIENDLY

TRUTH #02EXPRESSION

CELLPHONES MAKE US

FEEL CONNECTED WITH

LOTS MORE PEOPLE AND

EXPAND OUR NETWORK

ACROSS THE WORLD.

BUT ODDLY THINGS FEEL

MORE EMPTY.


TRUTH #03EXPRESSION

WORD LENGTH IS ONE

FACTOR THAT IS JUST NOT

GIRLAPPROVED. WE HATE

THAT OUR THOUGHTS ARE

LIMITED BY THE 160

CHARACTER LIMIT.


TRUTH #04EXPRESSION

GIRLS USE ABOUT THREE

TIMES AS MANY WORDS A

DAY AS GUYS DO. WE

NEED MORE TIME AND

SPACE TO COMMUNICATE

THAN BOYS DO.



TRUTH #05EXPRESSION

GUYS LIKE TO TEXT IN LIKE

25 CHARACTERS; THEY

ARE PROBABLY HAPPY

WITH THE LIMITS. WE ARE

ALWAYS BEGGING GUYS

TO EXPRESS MORE.

TRUTH #06EXPRESSION

SOMETIMES I SPEND MORE

TIME TRYING TO FIT MY

IDEAS INTO A 160

CHARACTER LIMIT THAN

ON WHAT I ACTUALLY

WANT TO SAY.


TRUTH #07EXPRESSION

WE DON’T WANT TO LOOK

DESPERATE OR NEEDY,

WHICH IS WHAT HAPPENS

WHEN WE SEND ONE

THOUGHT IN MULTIPLE

TEXT MESSAGES.


TRUTH #08EXPRESSION

BUT WE’RE LOSING THE

TEXTURE AND BEAUTY OF

OUR MESSAGES IN FAVOR

OF QUANTITY.


TRUTH #09EXPRESSION

TEXTURE CONSISTS OF

ALL THE LITTLE THINGS:

PERSONALITY, QUALITY OF

WORDS, MEANINGFUL

COMMUNICATION.


TRUTH #10EXPRESSION

WE HAVE DIFFERENT

MOODS IN DIFFERENT

SITUATIONS, SO IT WOULD

BE GREAT IF OUR

MESSAGES COULD

REFLECT THAT.



TRUTH #11EXPRESSION

WHEN MY VERIZON BILL

LOOKS EXACTLY LIKE MY

BOYFRIEND’S FLIRTS, IT

JUST DOESN’T FEEL RIGHT.


BIG LESSONQUALITY MATTERS TO GIRLS, AS

MUCH AS QUANTITY.

ALLOW MESSAGES TO BE

VISUALLY CUSTOMIZED.

CHARACTER LIMITS ON A TEXT ARE NOT GIRLAPPROVED.

EXPRESSION


WE ARE LOSING THE MEMORIES THAT MAKE UP LIFECONCLUSION FIVE


We love saving messages, pictures, videos, voicemails, and anything that is meaningful and important to us. Whenever extra time

is available we love glancing through them and reliving all those moments.

Digital technology and digital messaging makes us feel like our work is all disposable, but it is not Having limited space on our

phones is something that makes us worry. When that limit is reached, it means that we have to either stop saving, or delete older

things to make room. What happens to all the things that we cherish then? To us, it feels like we’re deleting our memories.


WE ARE LOSING THE MEMORIES THAT MAKE UP LIFE

TRUTH #12EXPRESSION

GIRLS ARE SENTIMENTAL.

WE LIKE TO KEEP THINGS

THAT ARE MEANINGFUL

AND LOOK AT THEM OVER

AND OVER TO RELIVE

THE EMOTION.


TRUTH #13EXPRESSION

WHEN WE GET A CUTE OR

SWEET NOTE WE LIKE TO

SAVE THEM. WITH THE

PHONE YOU CAN’T DO

THAT. OUR PRECIOUS

THINGS ALL VANISH AWAY.


TRUTH #14EXPRESSION

IT BREAKS OUR HEARTS

WHEN WE HAVE TO

DELETE SOMETHING THAT

WE SAVED A LONG TIME

AGO TO MAKE ROOM FOR

THE NEW.


TRUTH #15EXPRESSION

ALL THOSE FUNNY TEXTS,

ADORABLE IMAGES AND

THINGS WE FIND AND

SHARE NEED TO BE FILED

AWAY AND PROTECTED.


TRUTH #16EXPRESSION

IT SUCKS WHEN WE GET

SOMETHING NEW AND WE

DON’T HAVE MEMORY ON

OUR PHONE TO STORE IT.



BIG LESSONJUST BECAUSE IT IS DIGITAL DOESNOT MEAN WE DON’T CHERISHIT.

HELP GIRLS RECORD AND STORETHEIR COMMUNICATION HISTORY

MEMORY


THE LACK OF SOCIAL NORMS ARE CAUSING CONFLICTCONCLUSION SIX


While phones become an increasingly important part of our lives, there seems to be no social etiquette that tells us when and

where we should use them. The result is that whenever we’re in an important meeting, or on a date, or in class, we see people

texting and chatting online. Because girls are much more emotional, they feel much more responsible for messages than males

do. When somebody sends us messages, and we ignore them, we feel accountable and guilty if we don’t give a response. This is

why we feel so uncomfortable when nobody understands what is rude anymore. Everyone has their own standards of use, and

when you don’t know someone else’s rules, you have to make up a context. Girls are more likely than boys to try and understand

other peoples feelings. This means we are more confused when we send a message and have to read into a long delay. This

creates more tension than it would otherwise if we were boys. We ask ourselves, are they busy? Are they angry? Are they sad? Are

they in trouble? Should we call, and ask if everything is okay? Are they just proving to you that you’re not important? Dating just

got more complicated.


THE LACK OF SOCIAL NORMS ARE CAUSING CONFLICT


TRUTH #01RELATIONSHIP

IT IS WONDERFUL TO HAVE

SO MANY WAYS TO

INTERACT WITH PEOPLE.

WE LOVE THAT WE CAN

CHOOSE AN IMAGE, A

VOICE MAIL, TEXT, ETC.



NO ONE CREATED RULES

OF HOW AND WHEN TO

COMMUNICATE. THE

PHONE COMPANIES

ASSUMED 24/7 AND THIS

IS SUPER MESSY SOCIALLY.



PERSONAL STORY“Why are there no protocols for texting? BOYS GET MORE

COMPLICATED. How many texts are healthy? Clingy? Playful?

When I send a message and get no reply, I start thinking up

scenarios in my head. Is she angry, or just busy? Is he with

another girl? Is he being eaten by a lion? We need date rules.



I LIKE TO BE RESPONSIBLE

WITH MY FRIENDS, BUT

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?

DOES THAT MEAN IGNORE

WHO I AM OUT WITH TO

CONTACT THE ONES I

AM NOT WITH. IT’S MESSY!



WE FEEL SO MUCH MORE

RESPONSIBILITY AND

OBLIGATION TO REPLY

THAN BOYS DO. WE FEEL

UNCOMFORTABLE WHEN

WE DON’T.



WHEN PEOPLE DON’T

RESPOND WHEN I CALL OR

TEXT, I WORRY ABOUT

WHAT’S GOING ON IN

THEIR HEADS. WHAT’S

GOING ON?



EVEN IN CLASS, EVERYONE

IS TEXTING AND THE

PROFESSORS JUST IGNORE

IT. DOES THAT MEAN IT IS

OK? LACK OF RULES MAKES

EVERYTHING MESSY.



PERSONAL STORY“Whenever I’m on a date with Mike, it’s like I’m also on a date

with his mom, his friends, his roommate, his best friend, his ex-

girlfriend, and his brother. Geez, Mike, why are we even

bothering with this date thing?”


RELATIONSHIP

BLACKBERRY ANNOUNCES

WHEN YOU READ MESSAGES.

THIS CREATES ISSUES. PEOPLE

ASSUME THAT IF YOU CHECK A

MESSAGE AND DON’T

ANSWER, THERE ARE

PROBLEMS.

TRUTH #07


SOCIAL MEDIA

FRIENDS AND FAMILY GET

UPSET IF THEY THINK YOU

ARE PURPOSELY IGNORING

THEM. BECAUSE OF THIS

FEATURE, I HAVE TO ALWAYS

RESPOND IN FULL, ASAP.

(MORE PRESSURE)

TRUTH #08


EXAMPLE

My mom can tell when I’ve read her messages, and gets hurt

and confused when I don’t respond immediately. Now that I’m

in college, my schedule is packed and I need my privacy: I can’t

have my mom calling and worrying about why I haven’t gotten

back to her when I’m studying and cant reply!



BIG LESSONNEW TECHNOLOGY IS

DISRUPTING SOCIAL CUSTOMS.

RELATIONSHIPS NEED NEW

SUPPORT BECAUSE OF PHONE

TECHNOLOGY

MESSAGE NOTIFICATIONS

NEED TO BE QUALIFIED

RELATIONSHIP


RANDOM INSPIRATION FOR THE PERFECT GIRL PHONECONCLUSION BONUS


OUR POCKETS ARE NOT

SHAPED TO CARRY PHONES.

THE PHONE-GIRL POCKET

RELATIONSHIP IS A LITTLE

TENSE.

TRUTH #01CELL PHONE SIZE


TRUTH #02CELL PHONE SIZE

BUT MOST OF THE TIME, WE

TRY TO SHOVE IT IN

ANYWAY. SO THEY END UP

FALLING OUT AND

BREAKING.


TRUTH #01CELL PHONE SCHOOL

DURING SCHOOL I HAVE

DOWN TIME I NEED TO

USE TO STUDY, BUT I

DON’T WANT TO ALWAYS

CARRY A BOOK WITH ME;

THEY ARE BIG AND HEAVY.


MY PHONE IS THERE TO

LOOK AT WHEN I AM

BORED OR RESTLESS.

IT ENTERTAINS ME

WHEN I HAVE A FEW

MINUTES ON MY HANDS.


TRUTH #01CELL PHONE PLAY

I LIKE TO READ CELEBRITY

GOSSIP TWEETS ON

MY PHONE, BUT

I DON’T WANT ALL THE

OTHER NOISE.



THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH

GIRL ENTERTAINMENT APPS

ON OUR PHONES TO HELP

US KILL SOME TIME.



TRUTH #01VOICE MAIL

I DON’T CHECK MY VOICE

MAIL BECAUSE IT FEELS

LIKE WORK, I USE TO LOVE

CHECKING MESSAGES ON

THE HOME ANSWERING

MACHINE.


YOU HAVE TO HAVE THE

PHONE TO YOUR EAR,

WHICH MAKES IT LESS

SHAREABLE BECAUSE THE

SPEAKERPHONE FUNCTION

IS NOT GOOD QUALITY.


TRUTH #02VOICE MAIL

I WANT TO BE ABLE TO

USE MY PHONE HANDS-

FREE, OR IN MY LAP. BUT

THE SPEAKERPHONE

MAKES IT DIFFICULT TO

HEAR AND BE HEARD.


TRUTH #03VOICE MAIL

WE HAVE A HARD TIME

MANAGING THE POWER

BECAUSE MOST OF THE

TIME, WE’RE NOT NEAR

AN OUTLET AND WE’RE

RUNNING AROUND ALL

OVER CAMPUS.

TRUTH #01POWER


IT’S PRETTY HARD TO

FIND AN OUTLET WHERE

WE CAN SIT BY AND LET

OUR PHONES CHARGE.

WHEN THERE IS AN

OUTLET SOMEWHERE,

STUDENTS FIGHT OVER IT.

TRUTH #02POWER


WE LOVE TAKING

PICTURES, BUT WE CARE

A LOT ABOUT DETAILS.

SOMETIMES THE ZOOM IN

OUR CAMERAS DON’T

ALLOW US TO CAPTURE

WHAT WE REALLY WANT.

TRUTH #01CAMERA


EVEN WHEN DO HAVE

THE PERFECT PICTURE,

SOME PHONE

COMPANIES MAKE IT

IMPOSSIBLE TO DO CROSS

PHONE PICTURE

SHARING.

TRUTH #02CAMERA


Devices & Hardware

truths