Critics of pending legislations and plans for text walkers (those texting while walking) have stressed on the bad effects of this habit especially to one's health. Some people have opposed ideas to encourage this type of behavior among people.
Writer Alex Soojung-Kim Pang told Toronto Sun said this distraction is harmful to many people. "Dear lord, no cell phone sidewalk lanes! Don't encourage such behaviour," he added.
Pang also mentioned that people have become so addicted to gadgets that they do not realize how bad the effects can be. "We carry them with us, we spend more time with them than we spend watching television, and we're giving companies the data they need to become even better at holding our attention," the writer furthered.
Communication, as per Pang, is really important for people to foster better relationships with others. However, he said that many people get distracted by the content they see online especially on social media sites.
Today earlier reported that texting while walking poses hazards and health risks to users. It claimed that a study last year has revealed that using gadgets while walking along a road take people more time to walk from one place to another.
"There are studies showing that the number of emergency room visits due to distractions like cell phones have increased dramatically," said John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health professor Andrea Gielen. "This is a nice supplement to that kind of population-based data," he added.
She noted that "distracted walking" has already become an epidemic especially with the advent of music streaming services, mobile games and social media sites. "I know from my own personal experience that you really have to be paying attention if the other person walking toward you isn't," Gielen said adding that studies of distracted people bumping or knocking others are also necessary.
