Simon Hill is an experienced technology journalist and editor who loves all

things tech. You'll find him writing about smartphones, wearables, tablets,
software, computing, videogames, and robots all over the internet. He spent several
years working in the games industry, and lives in Scotland with his wife and two
kids. Writing all kinds of articles, including features, editorials, reviews, round-
ups, comparisons, how-to guides, news, and more mainly for the mobile section. I
generate a lot of evergreen article ideas, assign them to other writers, and edit
them. I also represent Digital Trends at big trade shows like MWC and IFA. I am a
Contributing Editor at Digital Trends, and you can find my work at Tech Radar,
VentureBeat, Android Authority, Deal News, and USA TODAY 10Best.

Steve Gardiner is a high school English and journalism teacher at Billings

Senior High School in Billings, Montana. He is a National Board Certified
Teacher and was Montana Teacher of the Year in 2008.
Name: Steve Gardiner
Award: Montana Teacher of the Year for 2008
Teaches: High school English
Specialty: Reading
Teaching Since: 1978
Studied at Walden: Doctor of Education (EdD)
Read more at
https://www.waldenu.edu/connect/newsroom/publications/articles/2009/0723-teacher-
of-the-year-gardiner#eKiesWJABzs84Ewd.99

Min Alxe, a student at the China Central Academy of Fine Arts. The Central
Academy of Fine Arts or CAFA is an art academy under the direct charge of the Ministry of
Education of China
A woman is so engrossed in her phone that she sits on her cat, crushing it. She
rattles a chair, sending a cake flying into the face of the man behind her — who is,
of course, too busy texting to notice. A doctor gives a patient an injection, but
misses his butt, stabbing him in the head instead.

Fortunately, all of the above comes from an animation, not real life. 

Min Alxe, a student at the China Central Academy of Fine Arts, created "Life
Smartphone," a darkly funny commentary on our culture's smartphone dependence.
It shows different characters moving through the world and dying gruesome
deaths while not paying attention to what's around them.

Some of these risks aren't unrealistic. Exploding planets and rampant deaths aside,
"Life Smartphone" is inspired by a few very real smartphone-influenced maladies
that affect today's society. Prolonged phone use can have adverse effects on health:
Some people exhibit vision loss, others have wrist problems and finger numbness.
In 2012, a British study concluded over 60% of study participants suffered
from nomophobia — the fear of being without mobile contact.

There's even a condition called "text neck," poor posture resulting from extended
phone use, which can lead to spinal issues. 

The animation is as silly as it is morbid. But it's a frightening glimpse into a

dystopian future, revealing what could happen if we simply never look up from the
screens in front of us.