The BlackBerry-hunched neck posture first marked corporate and government elites.

Evidence

As the first decade of the new century rolled on, something was happening in the streets of America. More and more men and women, most in suits, could be seen compulsively pulling out a device with a tiny screen and craning their necks to stare at it. At that point, there would begin the familiar exercise of rolling a little dial before urgently typing away with both thumbs. In those years, this distinctive habit marked one as part of either the corporate class or the federal government. To everyone else, it looked self-important and faintly ridiculous. Few realized they were beholding an image of their future selves. — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 1033

Categorization

• CANDY: The image of suited people craning necks to peck a tiny screen — future selves — is an evocative, shareable opening snapshot.