This photographer removed the phones from his images and the result is haunting

Whether you're a high-flying city boy or a first year art student, that chances are that you've probably looked your phone countless times already today. It was probably the first thing you did this morning when you woke up. You might even been reading this on it right now.

Photographer Eric Pickersgill noticed this everyday obsession and simultaneous disconnect on a daily basis and created the following project around it. Simply called ;Removed, the series was inspired after he spent time observing a particularly disinterested, mobile obsessed family in NY cafe.

In his own words:

"Family sitting next to me at Illium café in Troy, NY is so disconnected from one another. Not much talking. Father and two daughters have their own phones out. Mom doesn’t have one or chooses to leave it put away.

"She stares out the window, sad and alone in the company of her closest family. Dad looks up every so often to announce some obscure piece of info he found online. Twice he goes on about a large fish that was caught. No one replies.

"I am saddened by the use of technology for interaction in exchange for not interacting. This has never happened before and I doubt we have scratched the surface of the social impact of this new experience. Mom has her phone out now."

The photos are thought-provoking and genuinely quite worrying, as well as a bit weird – everyone either looks like their hand just called them fat or they’re playing the most intense game of imaginary poker ever.