At an opening at PS1 I’m sitting on the stairs a short distance from a young couple. The man sees another woman he knows, gets up and walks over to greet her. They hug, I hear them exchange a few words (‘I barely recognized you in that outfit!’ ‘Oh my god, I know right?’), and they head over to the seating area together. The man’s companion, who is still sitting on the steps, smiles nervously as she observes this encounter; should she get up and join him? For a minute or so she seems undecided about what to do, and keeps glancing self-consciously in his direction, as if she’s suddenly unsure of her status. Is this other woman an ex-girlfriend? A colleague from work? A former classmate? One might suppose, in analyzing her body language, that she and the man have dating, but not for that long. Perhaps she wonders whether he will speak about her, or maybe point her out to the other woman, in which case she should be prepared to smile and wave. Finally, when it seems evident that the man and his acquaintance are involved in a lengthy conversation, the woman pulls out her one piece of unfailing armor: her smartphone.