KUALA LUMPUR, May 23 ― At what point does our attachment to our smartphones become an unhealthy obsession?
The destructive behaviour of Malaysians who continue to use smartphones while driving is more prevalent today compared to five years ago.
The desire to swipe that screen to reply a WhatsApp message or check comments on Facebook has turned into an innate habit many cannot seem to break away from.
There is probability that a high percentage of motorists are hooked on their phones the minute they get behind the wheel. Half of those driving and riding on our streets could also be busy browsing through Facebook while manoeuvering their way through traffic.
Some have mastered the skill of typing a 10-paragraph email to their employer while driving on expressways.
Such actions are life-endangering. Yet many continue to indulge in this ugly habit, causing nerve-wracking experiences to their passengers and fellow motorists.
The growing addiction is also killing the family spirit as conversations are becoming fewer and shorter.
We see many parents and children staring at their mobile devices while attending a family gathering or while dining out. What happened to the good old days when parents and children shared conversations on what happened at work or at school.
The continuous desire to look and swipe through a handheld device is also causing more people to be oblivious to their surroundings.
The recent case of a six-year-old girl who fell through a gap of an escalator at the Kenanga Wholesale City Mall last month is one case which shows how being distracted while on a mobile device cost lives.
The child's mother was investigated for negligence after closed-circuit television footage showed the mother fiddling with her phone shortly before Nurhayada Sofia Musa fell to her death from the second floor.
The mother was reportedly having an argument with her husband on the phone when Nurhayada fell.
According to figures from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and other industry surveys, there are at least 10 million smartphone users in Malaysia.
The TNS/Google Global Connected Consumer Survey 2014 indicated that one in two Malaysian adults owns a smartphone.
The survey involved 150,000 interviewees across 56 countries including Malaysia. According to TomiAhonen Consulting Analysis, the survey translates to some 10 million smartphone users in Malaysia as of May last year.
A report by GfK, published in February, found that smartphone sales in Malaysia peaked last year, with consumers spending RM8.74 billion on 8.5 million smartphones.
Although the exact number of teenagers owning smartphones is hard to gauge, MCMC's Handphone Users Survey 2012 indicated that people aged 15 to 24 made up almost 29 per cent of mobile phone users in the country.
Malay Mail's recent social experiment shows that many, from teenagers to adults, are not able to switch off their smartphones. We put both adults and youngsters to the test and they found it difficult to go about without their gadgets for more than 24 hours. While some managed to find new activities to engage in, others failed miserably.
Like it or not, we must admit we have become a nation of smartphone addicts.
