Smartphones and pedestrian safety

Safety hazards have been noted due to pedestrians walking slowly and without attention to their surroundings because they are focused upon their smartphones. Texting pedestrians may trip over curbs, walk out in front of cars and bump into other walkers. The field of vision of a smartphone user is estimated to be just 5% of a normal pedestrian's.^[1]

Some cities have taken design measures to make the streets safer for inattentive pedestrians, including lights embedded in pavements, and dedicated lanes for smartphone-using pedestrians to use.

The pejorative term smartphone zombie has been used to describe inattentive phone users;^[2] this phrase was sometimes blended to smombie in German^[3] and has seen some English usage.^[4] In Hong Kong such phone users are called dai tau juk ("the head-down tribe").^[5] A 2017 review considered the popular culture term in regards to the medical diagnoses of internet addiction disorder and other forms of digital media overuse.^[6]

^ Cite error: The named reference JT14 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Chatfield, Tom. "The new words that expose our smartphone obsessions". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 2019-01-22.
^ Wordsworth, Dot (17 December 2020). "The word of the year (whether we like it or not)". The Spectator. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
^ English, BBC Learning. "BBC Learning English - The English We Speak / Smombie". BBC Learning English. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
^ Cite error: The named reference SCMP15 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Duke, Éilish; Montag, Christian (2017), Montag, Christian; Reuter, Martin (eds.), "Smartphone Addiction and Beyond: Initial Insights on an Emerging Research Topic and Its Relationship to Internet Addiction", Internet Addiction: Neuroscientific Approaches and Therapeutical Implications Including Smartphone Addiction, Studies in Neuroscience, Psychology and Behavioral Economics, Springer International Publishing, pp. 359–372, doi:10.1007/978-3-319-46276-9_21, ISBN 9783319462769

[JT14-1] Cite error: The named reference JT14 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[2] Chatfield, Tom. "The new words that expose our smartphone obsessions". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 2019-01-22.

[3] Wordsworth, Dot (17 December 2020). "The word of the year (whether we like it or not)". The Spectator. Retrieved 17 April 2023.

[4] English, BBC Learning. "BBC Learning English - The English We Speak / Smombie". BBC Learning English. Retrieved 25 April 2023.

[SCMP15-5] Cite error: The named reference SCMP15 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[6] Duke, Éilish; Montag, Christian (2017), Montag, Christian; Reuter, Martin (eds.), "Smartphone Addiction and Beyond: Initial Insights on an Emerging Research Topic and Its Relationship to Internet Addiction", Internet Addiction: Neuroscientific Approaches and Therapeutical Implications Including Smartphone Addiction, Studies in Neuroscience, Psychology and Behavioral Economics, Springer International Publishing, pp. 359–372, doi:10.1007/978-3-319-46276-9_21, ISBN 9783319462769

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