Author: Rosenberg & Gluck, LLP
Some scientists and psychologists are calling texting an addiction, according to a CBS News article. Addiction to alcohol, drugs, and cigarettes is common. Eating food, playing video games, gambling, and pornography are also addictions for some people.
Addiction becomes particularly harmful when it distracts people from daily survival or from avoiding dangers. The CBS News article reported that while texting and walking, a woman in Staten Island fell down an open manhole. How many students do not learn because they are busy texting during class? How many people allow texting to distract them from doing their jobs?
In an age that promotes multitasking as a valued skill, researchers are finding that it can reduce productivity by as much as 40 percent. Research also shows that shifting from task to task makes tuning out distractions more difficult. People do many things at the same time—listen to music, text a friend, and work at a job. A preoccupation with multi-tasking can result in nothing receiving full attention and no task being done well.
The Director of the Adult Attention Deficit Disorder Center of Maryland gave his opinion on a study where Stanford University evaluated college students’ abilities to multi-task. He was quoted in a CNN Health article as saying, “This study adds to a growing body of literature that says, in general, that multitasking is going to be problematic for people, that it does compromise productivity, and that its consequences can be quite severe in situations like driving.”
If you are injured in an accident caused by a texting driver, get legal help to protect your rights. Rosenberg & Gluck, LLP’s Long Island car accident lawyers can discuss the prospects of pursuing a lawsuit.
