We all know at least one person that can barely walk on a flat surface, let alone walk and chew gum at the same time without falling over, so why is it that so many people walk and text on their phone at the same time?
Laws forbidding texting while driving are about as common as the people that disobey them, and now one small college town known as Rexburg, Idaho has a fine of $50 for texting and walking at the same time.
By no means do I think something as far as a fine is necessary here on Butler University’s campus.
But students and faculty both should start being a little more aware of their surroundings while walking down the halls or while strutting through the crosswalks between buildings.
On a nice and quiet Monday morning, while walking through the halls of Jordan, I was thinking of the day ahead and how delicious my Lucky Charms were and then suddenly I was nearly knocked off my feet.
Someone who was walking way too fast to just be going to class ran right into the front of me, hard.
It was only after the third time getting walked into or pushed off to the side by people wandering through Jordan Hall between classes did I realize that this is a simple fix.
Before texting, if you could just wait the two minutes it takes to walk wherever you are going or if you would just stand off to the side of the hallway, then you wouldn’t be running into everyone else in the hallway.
The biggest problem with the behavior is that if someone can’t wait or stop walking to answer a text or to browse the internet, then that means they probably do this while behind the wheel, which has much more drastic consequences.
The good news is, if you have an Android phone, there is a new application, the WalkSafe app which helps make sure distracted walkers don’t get hit by oncoming vehicles by letting them know what’s coming.
However, this only enables the bad behavior and the lost attention of our generation.
This is our time to take in our surroundings and enjoy where we are before we are stuck in the motions of the responsible life.
So, stop texting while walking and keep your head up while you walk so you can say hello the people that are actually here all around you.
