Much like a Digital Yawn, there are other phenomena that occur in the presence of our digital devices.
Today, we coin a new phrase: “Device Paralysis” – This is the opposite of “Text Walking” – i.e. walking obliviously down the sidewalk while typing away on your BlackBerry or other mobile device. By the way, this is apparently such a problem in London that they have considered installing padded lampposts to protect absent-minded texters.
Back to the point: Device Paralysis is when someone is so engrossed in typing (or reading) a message on their device that they stop dead in their tracks. Apparently, the compelling content of the message takes so much energy and blood flow to the brain that the rest of the body’s functions close down and the person stops moving. Unfortunately (for the rest of us), this tends to happen to people when they are in doorways, or on stairs, or generally in my way.
Besides being utterly annoying, the condition is harmless, so if you bump into someone who is in the middle of a Device Paralysis episode, don’t be alarmed. And don’t bother to say “excuse me” – they probably won’t notice anyway.
