These photos of humans with the smartphones removed show our grim addiction to technology

Is it a hand or an iPhone holder?

Checking one's phone is up there with breathing and blinking in terms of automatic actions in 2015, and the amount of time we spend absent-mindedly scrolling is only increasing.

After spotting a family eating breakfast together in New York yet all glued to their phones - minds absent from the moment - photographer Eric Pickersgill felt the urge to lay our internet obsession bare.

Not wanting to take photos of random people and edit the phones out, which he felt would be exploitative, he had people pose as though holding a device for the series, called 'Removed' which might sound crude were it not for the mildly terrifying incident that led to the idea.

"One night after getting back from the residency I slipped back into my old ways of using my device while in bed with my wife, despite having that moment of realisation when I was in New York," he told the Huffington Post.

"As my eyes began to slowly close while checking my emails, I awoke to the sound of my phone hitting the floor. Before I thought to bend over the edge to pick it up, I looked at my partially curled open palm resting on the edge of the bed that still held the shape of my dropped device."

The paradox of people meeting up to interact, then spending their time together communicating with other people on their phones is something that has been highlighted before, but for me the most interesting photos in this set are portraits of individuals, just stood there, alone, staring into their hand as though it cups a precious jewel.

Eric enjoys the irony of the fact people must use a device to view his photos.

"My reaction to that is one of satisfaction," he said of being asked about it. "These photographs are existing in people's lives as a way to make them pay attention to this social shift."

You can see more of Eric's work on his website.

All images: Eric Pickersgill