SRINAGARIND MEDICAL JOURNAL

Volume 36, No. 01, Month JANUARY, Year 2021, Pages 77 - 81

The impact of smartphone texting on gait speed in adolescent

Nichapa Parasin, Kewalee Seeharach

Abstract Download PDF

Background and Objective: The adolescents pay attention to social media using several applications on a smartphone and are online and on their phones, texting, sharing, talking, you name it, everywhere, i.e., bedroom, bathroom, public transport or while walking etc., Even though, social media on a smartphone is a useful technology, but it also effects on physical health. Smartphone use during walking may be change gait speed. The purpose of this study was to compared walking speed during walking with use and no use smartphone in internet addict adolescent. Methods: Twenty-five subjects aged 12-16 years old with moderate internet addict level using the internet addiction diagnostic questionnaire (IADQ) were invited in this study. All subjects were evaluated the walking speed using 10-metre walk test in two condition. Frist condition, subjects were instructed to walking without smartphone use. Second condition, subject will be texting using smartphone during their walking. The mean walking speed data was analyzed by Independent- sample T test and statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. Results: Subjects who walking with texting using smartphone showed significant increasing in both normal comfortable walking speed (0.12 m/s increasing, p < 0.000) and maximum walking speed (0.3 m/s increasing, respectively). Conclusions: Texting using smartphone during walking reduce gait speed in moderate internet addict adolescent. This may increase the greater risk of falls.

Keywords

Smartphone; Walking Speed; Texting

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