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NTT DoCoMo (the largest Japanese telecom company)'s customer service department recently tweeted an image purportedly showing the harmful effects of overusing smartphones:

enter image description here

To me, at least, the photo looks suspiciously doctored, and I was not aware of any reason why the relatively light weight of a smartphone can cause such a deformity.

The Google Translate of the tweet information:

[Finger is deformed! ? ] ... Also depending on how to hold the smartphone to become "text thumb injury". So that it is not too much a burden on a particular finger, but please take the time to time how to hold a change or break.

Native Japanese speakers are welcome to suggest edits and/or provide a proper translation, but it seems quite clear (to a Chinese speaker) that they are suggesting that the finger deformity is caused by holding the smartphone.

The belief of "smartphone pinky" being a real phenomenon is also corroborated by Rocket News 24 (an English blog about Japan) which cites the above Twitter post, as well as Urban Dictionary, which attests that the deformation is permanent.

March Ho
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    You made me look at my pinkies, and they look a lot like the photo – Evorlor Mar 11 '15 at 01:38
  • I tried holding my phone as bictured and it was uncomfortable all over; i'm not sure how one can use a phone in a death grip like that. – Weaver Mar 11 '15 at 02:02
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    @Evorlor Both of mine look at least similar to that (at the right angle). This is despite holding my phone left-handed *far* more than right-handed. – Is Begot Mar 11 '15 at 13:37
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    Mine look somewhat similar too, and I've never owned or used a smartphone. – jamesqf Mar 11 '15 at 19:01
  • It looks like a terrible photoshop using the liquidify tool. All of my fingers go on the side anyway, and a silicone case helps to have a better grip. – Velda Mar 12 '15 at 20:43
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    Found an [article on nlab.itmedia (from 2015, 10th of March)](http://nlab.itmedia.co.jp/nl/spv/1503/10/news134.html) saying `text thumb injury` (テクスサム症) originally referred to an inflammation of a tendon sheath; and that the confusion with a deformation of your finger resulted from a misunderstanding of an article from jcast. The article also claims that they made an inquiry to docomo, who stated that the tweet wasn't based upon medical evidence but because many people were reporting it on net – blutorange Mar 12 '15 at 23:36
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    Snopes has addressed it: http://snopes.com/politics/medical/smartphonepinky.asp – Sean Duggan Mar 16 '15 at 21:06
  • @SeanDuggan Thanks for the link! You should convert it to an answer. – March Ho Mar 16 '15 at 21:12
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    It's the way our knuckles protrude from our pinky. Yes I own a smartphone however both of my pinkys look like the one in the picture, despite me having never held my phone in my left hand. So everyone's pinky is going to look a little like that. If you don't believe me, look at you pinky from the front, or top, and you won't see the "deformity" –  Mar 17 '15 at 10:56
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    Clinodactyly implies an *abnormal* bend. I don't think Sean Duggan has provided evidence that this observed bend is actually due to clinodactylly, an *abnormal* bend. From what I can tell, most people have this feature, eliminating clinodactyly as a cause. –  Mar 17 '15 at 14:33
  • @clino While your name is rather apropos to the argument, I disagree that abnormality has not been shown, even if most people whom you sampled have the feature. The article states clearly that many people have the issue. – March Ho Mar 17 '15 at 15:34

1 Answers1

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Short answer, no. It is possible to sustain Repetitive Stress Injuries (RSI) from smartphone usage, much like the early traumas of "Blackberry Thumb" and "Nintendonitis", but these will not create permanent deformity of the fingers. As covered in the Snopes article on the phenomenon, the most likely explanation for people posting pictures of their ostensible damage is clinodactyly, a common slight curvature of the fingers caused by genetics which most people are unaware that they have until they look.

Sean Duggan
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