The American College of Emergency Physicians issued an alert that warns those who text message to be aware and not multitask while texting.
The American College of Emergency Physicians issued an alert that warns those who text message to be aware and not multitask while texting. A recent rise in text-related injuries—everything from pedestrians hit by cars while texting to falling off horses, tripping, and being burned as a result of cooking while texting—caused the need for the public announcement (Lindsey Tanner, "Texting? Don't Walk, Cook, Ride Horse," Associated Press, July 31, 2008).
According to doctors, multitasking is really just a collage of bits of attention span—each segment being momentarily devoted to a different activity—not a continuous monitoring of multiple activities. This means a split second of inattention to the path of a moving vehicle could result in a tragic accident.
In the book of Ecclesiastes, God reminds us to focus intently on any task in which we are occupied (9:10), but it is hard to do more than one thing very well while distracted. Be responsible and maintain alertness when you are engaged in any potentially dangerous activity and text with moderation.
