Seeing people walking around glued to their phones is such a common site in everyday life that no one doubts it anymore.
But keeping your eyes on your phone instead of your surroundings can be more dangerous than you might think, as these stories illustrate perfectly:
1. Two men fall off a cliff while playing Pokémon Go
Image Source: Cnn.com
Since the release of Pokémon Go in July 2016, numerous security concerns have been raised. Parents are concerned about their children being lured into unsafe situations in search of Pokémon, and several minor injuries have been reported due to people tripping over or running into obstacles while watching the game on their phones.
Two men in California paid a high price to enjoy the game. They climbed a fence in an attempt to collect Pokémon and slipped on the rocky ledge. One man fell 50 feet and the other nearly 90 feet down onto the beach.
The men had to be rescued by firefighters using ropes and harnesses and were treated in hospital for their injuries.
2. Student taking selfie crashes into police car
Texan student Miranda Rader took a selfie while driving for the popular social networking app Snapchat when she lost control of the car and crashed into the police car in front of her.
Officers said Rader tried to put her blouse back on as they approached the car and admitted she took pictures to send to her boyfriend.
She was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.
3. Tourist falls dead from Balinese temple while taking a selfie
Image source: Wikimedia.org
In the latest incident of “death by selfie”, in January 2017, Javanese tourist Kwan Anto Randy Saputro leaned too far over the barrier at the cliff temple to take a selfie and slipped, falling 100-120 meters to his death met.
This is not the first incident of tourists falling off this popular place for religion and tourism and many of the mishaps are due to selfies.
The number of selfie deaths is actually on the rise, with hundreds of people dying every year trying to get that perfect Instagram shot.
4. Woman dies while live streaming to Facebook
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jwBcnH9bEc
A 25-year-old Arkansas woman tragically died while holding and broadcasting her one-year-old son on Facebook Live in December 2016.
The video, which has now been removed from Facebook, includes footage of her singing and chatting before showing signs that she wasn’t feeling well, such as shaking her head and wiping her face.
She passed out, dropped her phone, and the broadcast continued until her friend burst into the room 30 minutes later. The cause of death has yet to be determined. A GoFundMe page has been set up to raise money to support her two young sons.
5. Man encounters bear while texting
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCAntD1-DIk
A California man was too busy looking at his phone to notice the 400-pound black bear that had wandered into his suburb.
The encounter was captured by California station KTLA’s helicopter camera, where you can see the man finally spot the bear before he runs for his life. The bear was later subdued with sedatives and released into a nearby forest.