Dr Voyer interviewed by BBC World on the consumer psychology of iPhones and iPads
17/11/2011
Dr Voyer was interviewed by the Spanish edition of the BBC World (BBC Mundo). He discussed the psychological meaning of the consumption of iPads and iPhones, being asked how Freud would think of these.
The original article can be found on:
Below is a summary of the original interview:
Freud once said 'one is very crazy when in love' can't help thinking he would see the iPhones and iPads as very narcissistic objects. The iPad and iPhone are intense objects of desire. Both objects store very intimate contents of our lives: images, text messages, personal numbers... They eventually become an idealized reduction of who we are, or more accurately, who we would like to be. Our iphones and iPads are an idealized representation of who we are, a beautiful object, containing personal idealized memories. It is also an object we can dominate: and if it does not obey our mind control, we become extremely frustrated. Most of the madness around iPhones and iPads could therefore be explained in terms of narcissism and the perverse relation we have to the object.
iPads and iPhones are also very much a reminiscence of the toys we were craving for when we were children. With iPads and iPhones, we are able to re-experience these innocent and much enjoyable moments of our childhood. In essence, Steve Jobs was a 'Santa Claus' -like figure. He was creating objects that adults could dream of, idealized, and for which they would be prepared to wait overnight, in the same way children can't fall asleep on Christmas eve.
Beyond the beauty of the object, the very nature of the object - a tactile object - would make it an ideal candidate to what Freud referred to as sexual fetishes. We have an inherently close, almost carnal contact with the object. Freud might also be interested in the care we take of these objects. Do we use a cover to protect it? Do we prefer the object to be 'naked'? Do we choose to dress the phone the way we dress?
Link to this page: http://www.richmond.ac.uk/n/1240.aspx
