Friday Philosophy – New Game: Phone Zombies! (You Too can Play)

I’m spending a lot more time in Central London at the moment due to current work commitments. A few weeks ago I was having a quiet stroll through the streets and had what I can only describe as an odd moment:

I looked around and found I was being converged upon by 5 or 6 people walking slowly and aimlessly towards me – all from different angles, all only vaguely aware of their surroundings, all looking like they were making straight for me. I instantly thought of one of the scenes from “Shaun of the Dead” {A cracking film, go hire it tonight}.

They were all on their smart phones of course, intent on the little glowing screens of whatever it was they could not drag their eyes from – despite them also trying to navigate a busy city landscape. As some of you know, I have a bit of a “hate-mild dislike-grudging acceptance” relationships with Smart Phones.

I was so struck by this scene that I nearly did not move in time, but finally I did step to one side as I watched them do this quite wonderful, little, shuffling-dance around each other. I think only one of them actually looked up properly, the others all did that micro-glance; frown; direction shift; re-engage-with-screen procedure that is becoming so common. As a species we must be somehow pre-designed to cope with this as none of them actually bumped into each other – but it took several micro-glance manoeuvres for some of them to make it through.

This has resulted in a new game I can’t stop playing as I make my way through London:

Phone Zombies - How many people can I see at any time who are effectively lobotomised by their personal electronic device?

I have a few rules:

• I has to be an electronic device – phones, smart phones, crackberries, tablets, electronic books etc.
• Real books and papers do not count.
• They must be upright (so no sitting).
• If they are moving they count.
• If they are stopped in the middle of the path they count.
• If they have put themselves in a doorway or some other sensible place they do not count.
• Unless, even though they have done that, they are still e.g. blocking ingress and egress from the doorway.
• A bonus point if they micro-glance manoeuvre.
• 5 bonus points if contact is made with another person in the time I am watching.
• 10 bonus points for contact with something inanimate {only once to date}.
• 20 points if they go “uuurrrgggghhh” and have blood on them. {no one has got 20 bonus points yet, but I live in hope}

I think my best so far is about 14, but that is because two phone-zombies both walked into each other. Classic.