An Initial Foray into a Social Issue of Expressing Feelings through Technology: A Mind Genomics Exploration

This study assessed the variation of concerns about expressing emotions in social relations, emerging from the increasing use of smartphones. Fifty respondents from the continental U.S.A participated through an application of Mind-Genomics Science. Two mind-set segments emerged. People in the first mind-set were concerned about the increasingly use of smartphones for social interaction, and the need for instant feedback. People in this segment stressed the need to put on a mask when presenting only a happy successful face. This segment was also preoccupied with our changing language skills, and with the increasing lack of privacy because everything one with smartphones is trackable. People in the second mind-set segment expressed concerns regarding the negative social effects of using smartphones to express emotions: less interaction at meals, isolation from personal relationships, fewer expressions of feelings, losing patience more quickly, and emerging health issues. A PVI (personal viewpoint identifier) is presented to allow discovery of these two mind-sets among new individuals, enabling a deeper understanding of the mind-sets by future researchers.