See how gnarly your hands would look like if they evolved for smartphone use

We’re a species that often prides ourselves on being pretty well-evolved, thank you.

After all, we’ve got these big brains for doing all our complicated thinking, we walk upright, have rid ourselves of most of that unsightly body hair our ancestors had and have made all these technological advances.

But how will some of those technological advances impact the way we evolve in the future?

In a whimsical attempt to answer that question for at least one body part, the British company broadbandchoices set out to see how our hands could be adapted to make using smartphones easier.

And the result, seen here, is pretty frightening.

A pointy index finger would help with navigation, the mobile phone comparison team that come up with the images determined. Gel pads on the tips of some of your fingers would let you clutch your phone more securely.

Even the size of your fingers might shift to maximize efficiency. Your thumb and little finger might bend to hold your phone in place. At the same time, these digits could lengthen to allow better access to the screen.

If all that’s not enough, your hand might develop a shelf of sorts where that all-important smartphone could rest.

These adaptations may seem fanciful, but they’re based on an analysis of common smartphone-related injuries, uncovered through a survey of 1,000 adults. Just over 30 percent of respondents reported hand and neck strain as a result of cellphone use. Almost 1 in 4 had bruising.

Just under 30 percent said their smartphone had injured them. The most common, reported by 58 percent of respondents, was “phone planting,” a black eye sustained when the user is on the phone in bed and loses his or her grip on the phone.

The study didn’t talk about adaptations to other body parts but future changes could involve improved peripheral vision while using the phone. Half of the people surveyed said that they had hurt someone else while on the phone, most of those walking while texting.

Given the way evolution works, you can rest assured neither you nor your grandchildren nor even your great-great-great grandchildren will be born with one of these “phone hands.” In fact, it’s a good bet smartphones will evolve much faster in the immediate future than humans ever will.                          

Call IndyStar staff reporter Shari Rudavsky at (317) 444-6354. Follow her on Twitter and on Facebook.