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Absorbed device users oblivious to danger »
For police and prosecutors, the details of the case were troubling - they believe the suspect had been out "hunting" for a stranger to kill - but so too was the train passengers' collective inattention to imminent danger. "When you used to go into a public place, you assumed everyone was in that place with you," said Jack Nasar, an Ohio State University professor in city and regional planning who specializes in environmental psychology. Missing cuesNasar has been studying the dangers of cell phone distractions for nearly a decade. For a 2008 study, he and his research team planted objects such as a sign reading "UNSAFE!" and fake vomit on a stretch of sidewalk, and instructed 60 people to walk the path. The implications are nothing new for Bay Area police officials, who say smartphone thefts have become an epidemic not only because the devices are valuable, but because the victims are preoccupied. "Oftentimes when you interview people who get their phones stolen, when you ask them to describe where the person came from, what he was wearing, they have no idea," said San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr. The advice from police is simple - pull out cell phones less, pay attention more. Another rider, 24-year-old Brie Peixoto of San Francisco, said it's clear people drift into their own world when they engage with smartphones - completely ignoring what's happening around them, like an elderly or disabled passenger who needs a seat. Spreading awarenessNasar later found that in 2010, more than 1,500 pedestrians were checked into emergency rooms nationwide because they were distracted by cell phones - a number that had almost tripled from 2004. Source Main page (current trends)
More about: Cell Phones, environmental psychology, imminent danger, Jack Nasar, police officials