Large phone corporations like Apple Inc. and Android have been releasing phones progressively bigger and arguably better. A person’s hand is only so big, these larger phones mean that people are having a harder time holding their phones, which leads to people dropping their phones and spending even more money on cracked screens. This just causes more stress because we all know that it takes at least five hours to get an iPhone screen replaced and it costs a person about 150 dollars. However, now there’s a handy gadget that has exploded in popularity in recent years. Popsockets. These are circular adhesive holders that stick to a person’s phone. They ‘pop’ out of their shell and create a stand that is used to hold onto.

The founder of the company that makes Popsockets is David Barnett. The company has been around since 2011 and its headquarters are located in Boulder, Colorado. Originally the Popsocket started as a button, because Barnett was tired of getting his ear buds all tangled up so he hot glued a button to the back of his phone. Barnett realized the potential instantly, and for the next three years he worked to create the popsockets that so many people use today.

Besides their somewhat immediate success, they are beneficial to general hand health. Since phones have been getting larger it means that people have had to adjust the way they they hold their phone and for most people that means holding it with one hand and with a regular grip and the pinky supporting it. This has lead to what people call ‘smartphone pinky’ which is an indentation on the pinky. This claims to cause an indentation in the pinky and slight discomfort. While scientists debate if this true, personal experiences corroborate the claim that it is real. Popsockets seem to have fixed the problem because they have created a new way to hold phones that does not stress the little finger.

Finally, besides helping with the supposed smartphone pinky, Popsockets are cute on anyone’s phone this is because they are customizable. For example if a person has a marble phone case (these are extremely popular at the moment) a person can order a monogrammed Popsocket to add to the general aesthetic of their phone. In this way, the Popsocket has many beneficial uses.