An Australian study has confirmed what most people have observed: that texting while walking increases a person’s chance of accidental falls—and that’s in crowded areas or into oncoming traffic.
Co-author of the study and neurologist, Matthew Brodie, said drastic ideas may be needed to reel in the habit.
“On any day, it seems as many as 80 percent of people, both younger and older, may be head down and texting. I wondered, is this safe? Is this the future we want to live in?” he told The Epoch Times in an email.
“What is it about texting and smartphone use that is hyper-addictive? Preferred to real-world, in-person interactions? Is this the new reality? If I lost my smartphone, would I then experience intense feelings of being alone and vulnerable, even if I were surrounded by other people at the beach?
The Experiment
The study, co-authored by Yoshiro Okubo, recruited 50 undergraduate students to walk along a tiled hazard walkway, with one tile that could slip out of place and cause a person to fall—akin to walking on a banana peel.The participants wore a safety harness to prevent any slipping should they fall and sensors were used to collect their motion data. They were then asked to go along the walkway either without texting or while typing, “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog,” on their phone.
To better simulate the uncertainty of real life, the students were kept in the dark about the certainty of slipping on the course. This allowed the researchers to study how texting pedestrians might anticipate and try to prevent a potential slip, such as by leaning forward.
“What surprised me is how differently people responded to the threat of slipping,” Mr. Brodie said.
Data Shows Caution Does Not Reduce Risk of Falling
The motion data showed that texting participants who tried to compensate for a lack of balance did not reduce their risk of falling.For example, some participants leant forwards, so their heads hovered over their phones, or they leant backwards.
However, this created other issues, including a wider range of movement with the upper torso or an increased “trunk angle.”
The “trunk angle” is the number of degrees a person (or the upper torso) sways forwards and backwards as they move; essentially, the larger the trunk range is, the more the centre of gravity (or postural balance) sways, and the higher the chance of falling due to higher instability.
Walking was also found to impact texting accuracy.
The best accuracy occurred when participants were seated; however, accuracy decreased even as walking participants displayed caution.
Needless to say, the lowest accuracy occurred when participants did slip.
The researchers noted that young people may be more likely to take risks even if they were aware that texting and walking could increase the likelihood of falling.
“From the paper, we can see how developmental neuroscience makes younger adults most at risk,” Mr. Brodie said.
“Texting, social media, and other apps are addictive and provide an immediate socioemotional reward.
Researchers Suggest Phone Locking Technology
Mr. Brodie and Mr. Okubo said technology-based initiatives such as a “texting lock” while walking could discourage people from the practice.At the same time, Mr. Brodie said street signs that discourage texting and walking may not work for young people.
“I don’t believe educational initiatives alone will work that well because people will engage in risky behaviour even when they know the risks because of the immediate and highly addictive socio-emotional rewards experienced through mobile phone use,” Mr. Brodie said.
“I suggest the manufacturers of the technology take responsibility for its safe use. I recommend for a motion lock that prevents texting and social media use involving phone screen use while walking. I am happy to be known as the ‘Grinch that stole texting.’”
Mr. Brodie added that he would be interested in conducting an interventional study to see if technology-based and educational initiatives could change texting while walking behaviour.
On the flip side, Mr. Brodie said he supports the use of mobile or cell phone technologies, especially when used for gait (walking) retraining for people with Parkinson’s Disease.