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This is what it looks like when 1,500 people all walk around staring at their phones

Published Mar 31st, 2014 12:25PM EDT
Walking And Texting Dangers

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If you stop for a moment to really consider it, one of the most peculiar phenomena brought about by the proliferation of cell phones is what we sometimes refer to here at BGR as the zombie walk. This is where people roam the streets like mindless zombies with their faces buried in their phones, bumping into each other and stationary objects along the way. Apple may soon try to address some of the perils of the zombie walk by stealing someone else’s invention, but in the meantime this “issue” is only getting worse. Now, thanks to a new video created by Japanese wireless carrier NTT DoCoMo, we can see what the brave new world will look like once the zombie walk infects us all.

Shared by Kotaku on Monday, NTT DoCoMo’s video is a simulation that envisions a city where 1,500 people are all walking the streets at the same time with their faces buried in their phones. The scene takes place at Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo, Japan, and it looks exactly as ridiculous as you would imagine.

Believe it or not, this is what life really does look like a lot of the times in big cities around the world. We don’t see quite as many collisions and spills in the real world as we do in the simulation, but we’ll get there soon enough.

NTT DoCoMo’s video is embedded below.

Zach Epstein
Zach Epstein Executive Editor

Zach Epstein has been the Executive Editor at BGR for more than 10 years. He manages BGR’s editorial team and ensures that best practices are adhered to. He also oversees the Ecommerce team and directs the daily flow of all content. Zach first joined BGR in 2007 as a Staff Writer covering business, technology, and entertainment.

His work has been quoted by countless top news organizations, and he was recently named one of the world's top 10 “power mobile influencers” by Forbes. Prior to BGR, Zach worked as an executive in marketing and business development with two private telcos.