Dignity Health created a “human interaction lane” along the CityScape sidewalk Monday for #TakeBackYourMorning, a campaign designed to challenge people’s smartphone habits and emphasize the importance of face-to-face communication.
“About 50 percent of people reach for their phones before saying, ‘good morning’” said Dr. Priya Radhakrishnan, a physician at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center. She said people check their smartphones more than 130 times per day, on average.
Radhakrishnan explained these statistics are based on a survey of 2,000 respondents, conducted by Dignity Health.
“(This amount of cell phone use) takes people out of the realm of human connectedness,” Radhakrishnan said. “What we’re trying to do is get back that human interaction.”
Dignity Health representatives handed out phone home buttons to people passing by as a reminder to limit their phone use. The representatives engaged in conversation with the locals over candy and free coffee from The Corner.
Dance teacher Bruce Goolsby was one of the people to stumble upon the human interaction lane.
Goolsby said he thinks this campaign can be effective because it addresses a real issue.
“It’s getting us thinking about using technology as a tool, but not allowing it to dominate our lives as it does,” Goolsby said.
His reaction was similar to the majority of others who witnessed the event, according to Jeremy Andorfer, an interviewer for Dignity Health.
Andorfer said the campaign has made people realize how much time they spend on their cell phones. He recalled his recent experience on a plane when he was cognizant of technology habits.
“You walk down the aisle and everybody is on a cellphone,” he said. “It’s like we’re zombies.”
Dr. Radhakrishnan said excessive phone use goes beyond blocking human connections. It has also been linked to affecting physical health, including causing inflammation of tendons from chronic texting and neck and back pain.
Goolsby was one of many Phoenicians on Monday to recognize his phone-use as detrimental to his mental and physical health.
“I think we need to find a balance, and that’s what I’m striving to do,” he said.
Contact the reporter at sierra.laduke@asu.edu
