AT&T has been running its “It Can Wait” campaign for a few years now, shining a light on the country’s continued problem with distracted driving. Every so often it puts out a survey and every time the result come back it’s like oh my god what the hell are people doing.
First things first – 61 percent of people say they’re still texting and driving. That’s obscene. Stop texting and driving. Whatever you have to say is not that important, I assure you. Even if you’re texting a friend to implore them to stop texting while driving. That’s still not a good reason to text and drive.
But we knew people are texting and driving. Every recent survey confirms this. AT&T’s new survey looked at other smartphone-related activities and found the following:
Smartphone activities people say they do while driving include:
- Text (61%)
- Email (33%)
- Surf the net (28%)
- Facebook (27%)
- Snap a selfie/photo (17%)
- Twitter (14%)
- Instagram3 (14%)
- Shoot a video (12%)
- Snapchat (11%)
- Video chat (10%)
God help us all.
But wait, there’s more.
“30% of people who post to Twitter while driving do it ‘all the time.’”
At least when you’re texting, there’s a recipient in mind. Someone is likely going to read/give a shit about your message. On Twitter, you’re just sending out 140-character farts into a vacuous netherworld populated by people who couldn’t give less of a shit about your Chipotle. Tweeting while driving has to be the most self-absorbed activity on the planet.
Anyway, carry on. Just keep your eyes out for those who aren’t.