Beware the smartphone zombies blindly wandering around Hong Kong
'Distracted walking', as the experts call it, is a growing annoyance in the MTR and malls and on the streets of Hong Kong. Experience elsewhere shows it can be deadly
The zombies are everywhere. They wander the streets, shopping malls and MTR corridors, heads down and oblivious to the world around them.
For fear of making contact, we sidestep them as they tap on their smart devices playing Candy Crush, messaging friends, watching videos or liking Facebook posts and Instagram photos. They won't eat you, but they might gnaw at your nerves.
More than 80 per cent of Hongkongers between the ages of 15 and 34 own a smartphone, according to research company Ipsos Group, with penetration trailing off to less than a third of the population over 50.
Many of us would rather give up television than our mobile device, one survey found. Smartphone culture has become so deep-rooted that it is has even spawned a Cantonese colloquialism - dai tau juk, or head-down tribe. The tribe's culture is having widespread ramifications.
Local neurosurgeon Dr Harold Cheng Kin-ming warned last month of the excessive pressure head-tilting exerts on the cervical vertebrae - and the number of cases reported by the Health Department is rising.
As well as being a pain in the neck, when we remain absorbed in our phones while on our feet - known as "distracted walking" - it can also be a public nuisance.