Mobile Phone Bling Boosts Device Attachment
Mobile phone accessories, which are big business in South Korea, Japan and other Eastern countries, include physical items, such as charms, cases, bags and stickers, as well as functional additions, such as ringtones and screen wallpaper.
The surveys revealed that Koreans were more focused on how to fit into social situations, according to Sundar, who worked with Seoyeon Lee, a mobile user-interface and user-experience researcher at LG Electronics in Seoul.
They also were more likely to look at the actions of others to give them cues on behaviour.
Americans, on the other hand, valued self-expression more and were less worried about how others perceived them. This could be why Americans customise less, while Koreans accessorise their phones to a greater degree.
People see their phones not as a tool, but as part of themselves, according to the researchers.
