Are you guilty of texting while moving around, especially when you are walking? Australian researchers who happen to be in possession of movie special-effects technology have managed to scientifically determine that texting walkers pose a danger not only to themselves, but to others around them as well. Relying on motion-capture technology that is not different from that used in films like “The Hobbit,” University of Queensland researchers realized that pedestrians who text while walking will see their balance and the ability to walk in a straight line affected, in addition to damaging their posture in the long run.
Study co-author Wolbert van den Hoorn shared, “I was checking emails while walking to work this morning. But it has a serious impact on the safety of people who type or read text while walking.”
Considering how smartphone use has risen dramatically over the years, so much so that around 77% of the world’s population own a mobile phone, there was a natural increase in overall phone-related accidents. In fact, U.S. emergency-room visits that were linked to phone use on the move has actually doubled to as many as 1,500 between 2005 and 2010, according to an Ohio State University study. Unless you need to make a real important decision, that text or tweet can definitely wait until you’re at a standstill.
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