Are cellphones too much of a distraction?
Talking on the phone distracts you from what's going on around you. This article from the New York Times shows how much people miss when talking on the phone. Researchers at Western Washington decided to do a study on this. They first had to get a distraction to distract pedestrians walking around the city. They chose a very bright, noticeable, and out of the ordinary clown riding around a square in the city on a unicycle. This part was played by a student named Dustin Randall. After the pedestrians crossed the square, the researchers asked them if they saw any thing strange. After they asked the pedestrians if they saw a clown on a unicycle. Here were the results:
The question asked by researcher | People walking with a friend | People talking on phone |
Did you see anything unusual? | 60% mentioned the clown | 8% mentioned the clown |
Did you see the unicycling clown? | 71% saw clown | 25% saw clown |
1 in 3 people listening to music or walking alone mentioned the clown.
The conclusion of this experiment shows that more people not talking on a phone, but rather walking with friend see the flashy distraction or clown. And many people in the city are talking on the phone while walking. This is a safety hazard because if there was a fire or dangerous hazard these people wouldn't notice it. Not only is this not safe for pedestrians but also drivers that talk on the phone. If they don't notice what is going on around them then they can get in an accident and risk not only their life but someone else's too. This is why it is important to not be blocked out of events going around us.
Even though this article does not have much to do with Mr. Hazen's Science class, it relates with everyday lives. Whenever I go in to New York City I always see pedestrians talking on their phone while working to work or for something else. Also everyone has seen someone talk with Bluetooth in their car. Most people use Bluetooth everyday as an average thing in their life. Although they probably never realized how dangerous it can be. I chose this article in the first place because it is something I can relate to rather than an article with many scientific terms that I don't understand. I find this written piece very interesting. In addition the results are amazing how that many people don't notice a bright and colorful clown.
MS
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