In an article published July 7 in The Conversation, School of Public Policy Professor John Rennie Short explained the value of unplugging during an age where technology is so prevalent in our daily lives. “The age of distraction is dangerous,” he wrote. “A recent report by the National Safety Council showed that walking while texting increases the risk of accidents. More than 11,000 people were injured last year while walking and talking on their phones…texting while driving resulted in 16,000 additional road fatalities from 2001 to 2007. More than 21% of vehicle accidents are now attributable to drivers talking on cellphones and another 5% were text messaging.”

Beyond the statistics showing the dangers of distracting driving, Short also outlined cognitive impairment that can result from being “plugged in” to technology. “We are more efficient users of information when we concentrate on one task at a time. When we try to do more than one thing, we suffer from inattention blindness, which is failing to recognize other things, such as people walking toward us or other road users.”

Short provided his thoughts on what can be done to further prevent negative impacts of digital distractions. “We are witnessing a cultural shift occurring with the banning of devices, cellphone usage being curtailed in certain public places and policies banning texting while driving. This is reactive. We also need a new proactive civic etiquette so that the distracted walker, driver and talker have to navigate new codes of public behaviors.”

Professor Short has written several articles for The Conversation on sustainability, climate change, and response to the recent unrest in Baltimore.