Smartphones and safety
The advent of the mobile phone and for that matter smartphones and their social networking capabilities among others makes it one of the top technological revolutions of the 21st century that affect the lives of many people.
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The advances made in the telecommunication industry in recent years have helped to improve communication greatly.
In Ghana, social networking on smartphones is the latest vogue amongst the youth especially those in first and second cycle institutions.
The common sites used for social networking, a platform that allows people to chat or exchange messages, include Facebook, whatsapp, twitter, instagram.
The patronage of these social networking sites may not be harmful, because lots of benefits can accrue from their judicious use but the manner in which it is done in most instances raises a lot of safety concerns that must be addressed.
Accidents such as falls and slips have occurred as a result of the unsafe use of mobile phones in some instances. In most cases, however, near misses, or incidents that could have easily resulted in fatality have been recorded.
It is worth noting from the safety perspective that out of every 300 near misses, 29 minor injuries and a major injury is thought to occur (Heindrich’s Safety Pyramid). Hence any recorded incident or near miss can possibly have dire consequences.
Students, especially those in the tertiary institutions, are the major culprits of indiscriminate use of social networking sites without giving recourse to safety.
It can be described as an addiction to phone as most of them are hooked to their phones, always trying to respond to a message or to follow the latest trend which, in most cases, prove to be on trivial issues.
Consequently, some easily forget what they are doing, concentrating on just their messages although they would claim they are “multitasking”.
As a result, some bump into others on roads or footpaths; while others miss their steps on numerous occasions sometimes resulting in slips and fall.
In some instances, some even cross busy roads lackadaisically while engrossed in their chats. The least said about the danger, the better.
Some members of the working class in society are equally guilty. The obvious question is “do they concentrate enough to give of their best on their respective schedules without a mess-up”?
Manual workers such as construction workers and other artisans are not left out in this development.
Even in some industries, operators of some high risk machines that need utmost concentration have been caught in this snare. The consequence of loss of concentration with its concomitant risk is often ignored.
Motorists are also involved in this growing menace. In slow traffic flow situations, some private car drivers while away the time by chatting on their phones while driving.
The apparent dangers involved including slow responses or reactions to events in the natural environment are usually overlooked.
In a particular event I witnessed, which triggered me to write this article, a motorist drove through a traffic light intersection when the pedestrian green was on, nearly knocking us (those crossing the road) apparently because he was engrossed in his chat on the phone and had not noticed the change in traffic light.
It is also common to see people crossing busy roads whiles talking on their phones or deeply absorbed in typing a message, momentarily forgetting the dangers or possible consequences of their actions.
Have you ever been involved in any of the unsafe practices outlined above? Perhaps you never gave a serious thought to the consequences of your action.
As a people, we need to cultivate a safety culture with discipline being the bedrock. The clarion call is - before you access your smartphone to chat, examine your environment and ask yourself “is it safe”?
