Does everyone have an “iPhone pinky” or are Gen Z’ers just holding their phones wrong? It has come to my and my peers’ attention that many of us might be holding our phones incorrectly, while simultaneously damaging the bone in our pinky fingers.
At first, this news shocked me and many others. We were worried that this would be an eternal symbol of our addiction to our phones. Anna Strauss, a junior at SSSAS said that the dent is “definitely avoidable” and it “shows that you’re on your phone too much.” So perhaps the finger dents aren’t as universal amongst Gen Zers as we had thought. Laura Duffield, a senior at SSSAS said “It’s scary to think that phones are damaging our physical self not only our mental health.”
Regardless of how we felt, there was no real scientific intel that could back up our emotions, so I interviewed Dr. Khosla, Mrs. Khosla’s husband, who is an orthopedist, to get information about what this “iPhone Pinky” really is.
After, interviewing Dr. Khosla, I received some much-needed information on the iPhone pinky. My most pressing question for Dr. Khosla was “Is the indent on the pinky permanent?” Dr. Khosla said “[it] will go away once you reduce the stress of carrying your phone like that. While this might sound like an easy fix, many students and teachers use their phones constantly throughout the day to email, read their schedules, watch videos, and chat with friends. Dr. Khosla then went on to say that “any permanent use in a set position, you will get some issues with that.” Meaning, that if Gen Z’ers don’t find an alternative way to hold their phones, or they don’t use them less, the indent on the finger could remain there forever.
In addition, the Smartphone pinky has more side effects than just an indent. Due to the lack of soft tissue on the pinky, the phone rests directly on top of the bone joint. Dr. Khosla said that this can “create stress or discomfort at the MCP joint.” This joint, also known as the metacarpophalangeal joint, is situated between the metacarpal bones. Since there is a lack of cushioning, prolonged pressure on this joint if you already have a form of arthritis or another disorder regarding your hand bones could potentially worsen it.
Nevertheless, the main takeaway from Dr. Khosla should be that we all need to“put it [the phone] down, take a break, take a rest.” We spend too much time on our phones, so much so that it is causing pain and an indent in our fingers! This should serve as a reminder that we need to disconnect from social media and shut our phones off for our mental and physical sake.
