Statistics Show That The Number Of Cellphone-Related Injuries Is Swiftly Increasing
These days, nearly everyone seems to have a cellphone in hand. At times, these devices can certainly be distracting. New data shows that more and more cellphone-related injuries are occurring, and some of them are quite serious. In fact, within the past two decades, these types of injuries have drastically increased to the point of concern for public health, according to Today.
Sometimes, cellphone-related accidents can be minor. Perhaps someone simply tripped because they were texting instead of watching where they were going. Other times, they can be far more serious if they involve texting while driving or even putting oneself in a dangerous situation in order to snap the perfect selfie.
Dr. Boris Paskhover, a reconstructive surgeon, says he comes across a multitude of patients with facial lacerations, or even broken jaws because they were on their phones and distracted instead of being aware of their surroundings. He emphasized that it only takes one serious fall to endure grave injuries that might even impact the way a person lives the rest of their life. Thus, it is essential to pay attention and navigate safely.
A man distracted by his cell phone while walking along a subway platform is rescued after falling on the tracks pic.twitter.com/gqRrvRc9Yx
— Reuters (@Reuters) November 27, 2019
“I don’t think people are aware of how fragile we are as humans. We’re resilient, but we’re also fragile. You fall and you can get a pretty bad injury. You walk in the city and you see everyone just looking at their phones. Be aware that you can hurt yourself,” he said.
A new study found that on a national level, the estimated number of patients treated in the hospital for cellphone-related injuries from 1998 to 2017 is likely around 76,000. People between the ages of 13 to 29-years-old made up nearly 40 percent of the patients examined. As staggering as this number may be, it’s only increasing with a new generation that is growing up with phones playing a major role in day-to-day life.
Dr. Paskhover wants people to know that the human body is not as tough as they may think, and a fall caused from a simple distraction could be tragic.
“We have a skull that protects our brain, but it doesn’t mean it’s impervious. Your brain is soft. I see patients who die just from falling. A fall from upright — you fall, you hit your head the wrong way, you get a traumatic brain injury.”
Government officials are working hard to decrease distracted walking, as The Inquisitr previously reported. For example, in 2017, Honolulu, Hawaii passed a bill that can lead to a pedestrian getting fined if they are looking at their phone while crossing the street.
