Antwerp, one of the major cities in Belgium, now has lanes for “text walkers” - people who are sending text messages on their smartphones while walking slowly. The lanes were painted on the ground to avoid mishaps caused by these “textaholics” and prevent their smartphones from being damaged. The two parallel white lines, which are labeled “Text Walking Lane,” are drawing tons of attention from Belgian citizens.

The Belgian government did not think of this idea, but rather Mlab, a smartphone repair service in Belgium, came up with the idea after seeing many passers-by often collide with something or somebody. “Everyone text walks. You probably walk through the streets while texting…and do not really pay attention to your surroundings…This causes collisions with poles or other pedestrians. You could, unknowingly, even be endangering your own life,” said an Mlab spokesperson.

Last July, lanes for text walkers were first installed in Washington, D.C. After two months, the same kind of lanes appeared in Chongqing, China. Now, Belgium is the third country that is trying to guarantee the safety of text walkers and those passing by them. This may mean that more and more countries are considering the lifestyles of their citizens. However, text walkers should probably pay more attention to what is happening around them.

Tony Jang
Staff Reporter
(tonyjang@timescore.co.kr)