
Texting on the move turns your walk into an ungainly lollop - walterbell
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2017/06/30/texting-move-turns-walk-ungainly-lollop/
======
pasta
I kind of feel sad watching people walking head down, not noticing anybody,
busy in a virtual reality, getting a phone neck.

They are with one foot in the matrix.

I think we need to step back once in a while and rethink what is really
important to us.

~~~
nopinsight
What if they are texting someone important to them? Their child, spouse, or
parent they'd rather talk with than random strangers who pass by.

~~~
thinkfurther
Going by the mostly vapid, unhappy expressions on their faces, I'd say no. And
why would the alternative be talking to passing strangers? Why not just take
in yourself and your surroundings, or be in your head without distractions?
It's not that you have to always do that to be a person, but you _have_ to be
able to, and if you're not, talking to people who are equally unable isn't
even being social anymore, it's just a blob. Which brings us back to the vapid
expressions when reading and communicating. I think they're not really _doing_
anything as much as simply waiting life out.

~~~
totalZero
i don't put on a happy face when i text my girlfriend. doesn't mean i don't
enjoy texting her.

~~~
thinkfurther
That's great, but the expressionless faces also don't necessarily mean
everyone is texting your girlfriend, or enjoying it if they do :P

When I even just read a book, I often catch myself with a grin or a frown. So
if being glued to smartphones is enhancing so many lives so greatly, where are
the signs of liveliness?

~~~
nopinsight
Just a counter example: people in Flow don't usually show outward expression
of happiness, but it is widely considered a positive experience.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_(psychology)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_\(psychology\))

------
andygates
I know this is meant to be a "dang kids" piece, but hey, that means that
texting while walking might fool gait-analysis cameras.

~~~
dnh44
Unless everyone also has a unique texting gait as well.

~~~
westmeal
Now you're giving them ideas.

