Scientific Evidence That Walking While Texting Is Bad

Tuesday, January 28, 2014 - 10:30 in Psychology & Sociology

Walking While Texting Schabrun et. al In New York, when people are texting while walking in front of me, I'm frequently overcome by rage. But since throwing people into the street is "assault" according to "the law," I abstain. However, people--come on. In this study published in the online journal PLOS One, researchers used motion-capture software to assess the gaits of 26 healthy folks, with and without cellphone use. Here's the setup: Individuals walked at a comfortable pace in a straight line over a distance of ~8.5 m while; 1) walking without the use of a phone, 2) reading text on a mobile phone, or 3) typing text on a mobile phone. Gait performance was evaluated using a three-dimensional movement analysis system. [Ed note: awesome.] Eight cameras were set up to monitor the people walking while reading or texting (the phrase, sent on...

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