Our daily lives have become used to having cell phones to text, call and surf the web with. They have become an addiction for many, especially for Millennials who never knew of a world without them.

From an online article I found out some very startling statistics from the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project back in 2009:

• Nearly half (47%) of all texting adults say they have sent or read a text message while driving. That compares to one in three (34%) texting teens ages 16-17 who said they had “texted while driving” in a September 2009 survey.
• Looking at the general population, this means that 27% of all American adults say they have sent or read text messages while driving. That compares to 26% of all American teens ages 16-17 who reported texting at the wheel in 2009.
• Three in four (75%) cell-owning adults say they have talked on a cell phone while driving. Half (52%) of cell-owning teens ages 16-17 reported talking on a cell phone while driving in the 2009 survey.
• Among all adults, that translates into 61% who have talked on a cell phone while driving. That compares to 43% of all American teens ages 16-17 who said they had talked on their phones while driving in the 2009 survey.
• Half (49%) of all adults say they have been in a car when the driver was sending or reading text messages on their cell phone. The same number (48%) of all teens ages 12-17 said they had been in a car “when the driver was texting.”
• 44% of all adults say they have been in a car when the driver used the cell phone in a way that put themselves or others in danger. About the same number of teens (40%) said they had been in a car when the driver used a cell phone in a dangerous way.
• Beyond driving, one in six (17%) cell-owning adults say they have physically bumped into another person or an object because they were distracted by talking or texting on their phone. That amounts to 14% of all American adults who have been so engrossed in talking, texting or otherwise using their cell phones that they bumped into something or someone.

You must remember that this study is from 2009 and it is seven years later; the numbers are more than likely even worse today! I myself have observed people driving and looking at their cell phones, just texting away oblivious of where the car they are driving is headed or what is happening around them. Plus I have noticed people walking and looking down at their cell phone screen, not looking at where they are going or if anyone else might be in their way.

It just makes me wonder how many accidents occur because of being distracted, either by a cell phone or something else. This is just plain scary to me and I always get nervous when I see someone looking at their cell phone while driving or walking.

Also human interaction has changed, we used to at least talk to one another and now we either text or tweet or facebook our friends. Even when we physically get together everyone is paying attention to their cell phones and even texting each other instead of talking.

Cell phones have become an addiction and we must reverse this terrible trend so that people will once again interact with one another in a more physical sense instead of an electronic one.

That is my opinion- Jumpin Jersey Mike