Barker (2000) defined the conceptions we have of ourselves as self-identity. The iPhone, in its early stages of global technology conquest, gave me the ability to express my identity. The iPhone has provided connection, communication, and knowledge that all contribute greatly to personal identity. The iPhone has given me access to information, participation in social interactions, and personal security. In a way, the iPhone gave me a sense of identity: the iPhone was a comfort object functioning in such a way that I could be connected to everything that was happening in society through security of a screen. I was able to communicate throughout my teenage years, expressing my feelings and thoughts with the world through a new realm of communication, the iPhone was the creator of applications that introduced me to social media. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Many believe that we have started to see our smartphones as an extension of ourselves, I believe this has been true for me throughout my teenage years unlocking my iPhone is a bit like unlocking my mind . We identify more and more with our phones, increasingly considering them and the digital lives we lead as constitutional factors of our psychological life. Barker (2000) stated that the expectations and opinions of others constitute our social identity. Being in a group is part of human life; it plays a very important role in everything we do, including the brand groups we belong to. Being part of the iPhone group helped establish my social identity. At such a young age, I used consumerism to assert my status within a social group – cell phones were seen as an adult thing. I think I was trying to appear more mature and older by buying an iPhone and conforming to the ever-expanding tech society. Being socially identified with those who owned an iPhone, I thought they demonstrated wealth and superiority, I had the best phone of the time and everyone wanted a ride. This slowly got worse as the iPhone started to be updated every year and more and more people owned the iPhone. Overall in society I didn't discriminate, but it wasn't common to have an iPhone at the age of twelve. In my group, I was the first to own an iPhone, the first to own a smartphone, which I believe was the only way to distinguish myself. Owning an iPhone is not distinct, the majority of people in the world own an iPhone or some type of smartphone, so it is wrong to claim that I was making a distinction. I may have thought I stood out back when Apple first released the iPhone, but I was just like everyone else in society trying to get on the smartphone bandwagon. When I received my first iPhone, I thought it was something I could use to express my individuality, but upon reflection I was a pseudo-individual. It didn't really matter what phone I had, and at the age of twelve, I probably didn't even need it. The mass-marketed, mass-produced smartphone was something I thought I needed. The iPhone wasn't the first smartphone, but it was the smartphone to own. The iPhone was a false need, something imposed on me due to certain social interests. The consumer.