People who’ve changed their shopping, banking and payment behaviors after getting a smartphone — dubbed “smartphonatics” — are changing the way we work, play and manage our money.

But are the devices themselves making us less civilized?

According to a study by ACI Worldwide and Aite Group, fully a quarter of smartphone owners are considered smartphonatics, and those early adopters are sparking widespread changes in the banking and retailing industries.

And while that’s great for convenience’s sake, experts worry our phones are also the source of dangerous behavior. As an example, the perils of texting and driving are now pretty well-known, but a Lookout Mobile Security study found one in four smartphone owners still report checking their devices while behind the wheel.

The phones also seem to be distracting us to the point of rudeness. A third of survey respondents said they check their phones while dining with others, and nine percent even sneak a peek during religious services.

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