Smartphones have become an essential device for most of us that text-walkers or people texting while walking are common. Many will say that texting while walking is dangerous, but a new study suggests that we shouldn't worry much because text-walkers have changed their movement to protect themselves and their devices from the dangers associated with text-walking.
Last year, a study conducted by the University of Buffalo found that texting while walking results in more injuries than distracted driving. As many as 10 percent of the pedestrians brought to emergency rooms were involved in accidents related to mobile phones. Car accidents are more severe, but physical injury due to texting occurs more often.
However, a new study suggests that the government shouldn't worry much because humans have evolved to accommodate their text-walking habits through "protective shuffle." Protective shuffle is a special movement pattern that protects text walkers from colliding with other people or objects, according to The Independent.
Researchers at the University of Bath in U.K. involved 30 participants in three walking experiments to determine the effects of texting while walking and how the text walkers react when faced with barriers. The participants were grouped based on their walking experiment: normal walking, texting while walking and texting while walking with an obstacle.
The analysis showed that the text-walkers walked 26 percent slower compared to those whose eyes were not glued on their smartphones. The speed remained the same with or without obstacles. The researchers also observed that the text walkers have more steps and seemed to be more cautious while walking by making large, exaggerated movements to avoid crowds and compensate for their diminished vision.
"Texting while walking significantly affects gait characteristics," Sammy Licence, study author from the University of Bath, told The Telegraph.
"Our results suggest that those who walk and text adopt a protective gait pattern alteration in order to minimize the risk of potential accidents."
The study was published in the July 29 issue of PLOS One.
