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Study: Why Koreans Love Cellphone Bling, And Americans Don't

South Koreans love charms and stickers, while Americans like their phones plain, according to a new study.
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When it comes to cellphone bling, Americans have a lot to learn. A new study from Penn State found that South Korean students were way more likely to decorate their cellphones with charms, fancy cases and stickers than their American counterparts. Why the difference? Korean students might be more focused on how to fit into social situations, the study said, which caused them to express themselves more through their phones. "People who live in collectivist cultures are often more other-directed," S. Shyam Sundar, co-director of the Media Effects Research Laboratory at Penn State, said in a press release. "They want to know how others might look at them and also look to others as a way of influencing their own behaviors." America’s more individualistic culture, the study said, might be why students in the United States don’t spend as much effort decorating their phones.

IN-DEPTH

--- Keith Wagstaff