Cell Phones Are Dangerous – Yes, They Are

Maybe not elephants distracting, but cell phones can be dangerous when you (yes, you) are bumping into other people while looking at your phone or obliviously walking down a crowded street. These are all problems that cell phone users readily admit to.

But, they insist, they themselves are not guilty. Other people have these problems. It is the “other person” who is guilty of talking on the phone, listening to music, or just not paying attention to what is going on around them while they are talking/texting/viewing.

“Today, more and more people are falling down stairs, tripping over curbs and other streetscapes and, in many instances, stepping into traffic, causing cuts, bruises, sprains, and fractures, ” said Alan Hilibrand, M.D., chair of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) Communications Cabinet. “In fact, the number of injuries to pedestrians using their phones has more than doubled since 2004, and surveys have shown that 60% of pedestrians are distracted by other activities while walking.”

Encouraged by the 2009 success of the “Decide to Drive” campaign the AAOS expanded its injury-prevention efforts to include distracted walking. The organization initiated a study in 2015 that included 2, 000 respondents nationally, and another 500 respondents in each of the following eight cities: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Houston, Phoenix, Atlanta and Seattle.

The researches found that, guess what, 78% of U.S. adults believe that distracted walking is a “serious” issue. However, they are not to blame. Other people are the guilty ones. Some participants thought the preoccupation with distracted walking was a bit “silly” (45%) and 31% admitted that it was something they were likely, at some point in their lives, to do.

Who does get hurt in distracted walking? According to the survey, women aged 55 and over are most likely to suffer serious injuries. Millennial (ages 18 to 34) are least likely to be injured. Millennials, 70% of them, believed that distracted walking is a serious issue compared with 81% of individuals who were aged 35 and older.

Perceptions of the seriousness of the issue of distracted walking differed depending on location. According to the survey, “New York City residents were most likely to view distracted walking as a serious issue (86%), and Seattle residents were least likely to view the issue as serious (77%). New Yorkers were more likely to say they personally walk distracted (39%) than were walkers living in the other cities. Residents of Chicago and Philadelphia were most likely to see distracted walking as “dangerous” (49%), while those in Houston were the least likely to think it’s dangerous (40%).”