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Measuring the Switch Cost of Smartphone Use While Walking
Published on: April 30, 2020
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Effects of smartphone texting on the visual perception and dynamic walking stability
Jongil Lim1, Seung Ho Chang2, Jihyun Lee3
1Department of Kinesiology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA.
Journal of Exercise Rehabilitation
|March 29, 2017
Summary
Texting while walking causes significant visual information loss, impacting situational awareness. However, dynamic walking stability remains unaffected, suggesting a trade-off in attentional resources during dual-tasking.
Area of Science:
- Human-Computer Interaction
- Cognitive Psychology
- Biomechanics
Background:
- Mobile phone use while walking presents safety risks due to dual-task interference.
- Limited understanding exists on how mobile phone use affects environmental perception and walking dynamics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate visual information loss and its impact on dynamic walking stability during mobile phone use while walking.
- To compare dual-task performance (texting and visual tasks) with single-task performance.
Main Methods:
- Young adults performed texting and visual tasks simultaneously on a treadmill.
- Measured visual task performance, field of regard loss, and margin of stability.
- Compared dual-task conditions with single-task (visual task only) conditions.
Main Results:
- Approximately 50% of visual cues were missed during texting while walking compared to single-tasking.
- Field of regard loss increased with higher dual-task costs.
- No significant differences in dynamic walking stability were observed between conditions.
Conclusions:
- Mobile phone use while walking inevitably leads to a loss of situational awareness.
- Decrements in concurrent task performance occur alongside reduced awareness.
- Findings highlight the importance of attentional resource allocation in dual-tasking and inform safe mobile phone usage guidelines.
