14 DAY TRIAL // Assembling data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, run by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, a paper released by a graduate student in the Yale economics department claims that the emergence of smartphones – particularly the iPhone – has led to a 10 percent increase in playground accidents for children.
Craig Palsson, the Yale graduate in question, argues that the smartphone revolution – which started with the iPhone – is directly responsible for an increase in “broken bones and concussions” across playgrounds. His reasoning is that parents who are supposed to watch over their kids are instead doing email and games on their devices while their kids go running around unsupervised.
The paper says that smartphones have led to 10 percent more accidents for children below 6 from 2005 to 2012. It certainly sounds plausible, but it’s hard to pin that 10 percent figure on the smartphone alone.
Coincidence may not be something to take into consideration, but there are so many factors at play here – including population fluctuations, parenting now and then, and so on and so forth. But yes, it’s a proven fact that smartphone use is responsible for an increase in accidents everywhere in the world, not just on playgrounds. Just something to consider the next time you take your family out to the park.
