Don't read this on your smartphone while
walking -- unless you want the people behind you to
become annoyed and get an uncontrollable urge to rip
your phone out of your hand.
If you've ever been stuck behind someone who was
strolling while staring at a screen, you know walking
texters get around about as fast as a snail with a
Samsung Galaxy. Now a study has stepped in to confirm
the obvious, concluding that people who walk while
texting move more slowly -- and even swerve.
Researchers from Texas A&M University and University of
Bath in the UK asked 30 participants between 18 and 50
to navigate an obstacle course with curbs, traffic posts
and other common pedestrian obstacles, in three
scenarios: walking normally; texting and walking; and
texting and walking while being distracted by taking a
standard mathematical test on an app.
Not too surprisingly, participants in the latter two
situations took longer to complete the course -- taking
smaller and slower steps and compensating for their
diminished vision by raising their feet higher to clear
stairs and curbs.
Related stories
My name is Laura. I'm a compulsive texter. I just fell flat
on my face.
Girl gets leg stuck in drain while texting and walking
Texting while walking makes you go wonky, researchers
say
"We found that our participants were very good at
adapting the way they walk to limit their risk of injury,
and there were very few occasions when a participant hit
an obstacle," Polly McGuigan, a lecturer in biomechanics
at the University of Bath's Department for Health, said in
a statement. "This may be because many of the
participants had grown up using a mobile phone and are
very used to multi-tasking."
The promising takeaway: walking texters did a good job
adapting their movements to avoid mishaps. The bad
news: the rest of the world was stuck behind them and
late to an appointment. Plus, the researchers
hypothesize, participants' pokier pace, along with their
path deviations, could lead to trip-and-falls like one my
poor CNET colleagues experienced while staring at her
screen.
The researchers used a 3D optical motion analysis
system to examine participants' movements and
excluded from the study anyone taking medication that
could cause dizziness. Last year, researchers in
Australia also studied walking and texting, and came to
similar conclusions, though they didn't up the ante with
pedestrian obstacles.
Further research, say the authors of the new study,
published this week in the open-access journal PLOS
One, should examine whether older texters on the move,
who might be less immersed in the mobile lifestyle, are
more prone to accidents.
Further research should also check up on the habits of
the girl who got her leg stuck in a drain while texting
and walking and the woman who walked off a pier and
into a lake while stuck to her screen.
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