Smartphone zombie

A smartphone zombie (German: smombie[1][2]) is a pedestrian who walks slowly and without attention to their surroundings because they are focused upon their smartphone. This is now a significant safety hazard as distracted pedestrians cause accidents. Cities such as Chongqing and Antwerp have introduced special lanes for smartphone users to help direct and manage them.[3][4]

In 2014, China had over five hundred million smartphone users and more than half of them have a phone addiction. In Chongqing, the government built a cellphone sidewalk, separating the phone users and the non-cell phone users.[5][6] In Hong Kong, they are called dai tau juk (the head-down tribe).[7]

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.[8] An app which uses the phone's camera to make it seem transparent can be used to provide some warning of hazards.[9][10] In Augsburg and Cologne, ground-level traffic lights embedded in the pavement have been introduced so that they are more visible to preoccupied pedestrians.[11] In Seoul, warning signs have been placed on the pavement at dangerous intersections following over a thousand road accidents caused by smartphones in South Korea in 2014.[12]

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