South Korea will invest in the protection of “Smombies”.
But will you tell us, what is a “Smombies“? Some of you, we are sure, are among them. These are the people who walk down the street with their heads down and staring into their smartphones. Very often they remain focused on a video, a message to read, do not see the danger coming and miss a sidewalk, hit a pole or much worse.
Already in 2019, Euronews had published a video talking about an experiment carried out in Ilsan north of Seoul to protect this type of person, mainly at pedestrian crossings in order to avoid accidents.
In this month of January 2022, it is the local media Yonhap news which informs us that an increasing number of pedestrian traffic lights find their way on the ground in Seoul in order to improve the safety of pedestrians, their noses glued to their smartphones. About 1,200 pedestrian crossing signal systems on the ground were in use in the city’s 25 wards, led by the southern district of Gangnam, which operated 138. Installed on the ground at the foot of a pedestrian crossing, the additional lights are designed to guide pedestrians distracted by their smartphones, called “Smombies”.
“They were originally adopted as an additional traffic signaling system for “smartphone zombies (Smombies)“, but have proven useful in keeping children off the road”,
said a Gangnam district official.
A protection that the city wants to deploy more widely. The question is: Is this a good idea? Wouldn’t it be worth people simply putting their smartphone in their pocket? What do you think ?
Journalist: Shawn
Translator: Shawn
Source: Yonhap news/ Euronews
