Society & Culture Smombies - enough's enough.

[Frank Bunn]

Smombie, noun: A person walking around unaware of his or her surroundings entirely absorbed in their smart-phone.

Usually I have fun with them. They are so focused on their phones that you can walk next to them and gently steer them around. But this morning the girl walking next to me had her phone in one hand and an umbrella in the other. She had to avoid another Smombie and I got spiked in the head by an umbrella strut.

It's time to rise up. If people are going to act like zombies we should start using Walking Dead survivor methods on them.

 

[Mofra]

Sudden stops in their path would teach them eventually... that, and oncoming traffic as they cross the road (wasn't there a spate of Pokemon Go Darwin Award winners earlier this year?)

 

[Footypie32]

I often just walk into them and then sarcastically say "sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going". They usually just give me a sheepish grin.

 

[kickazz]

I often just walk into them and then sarcastically say "sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going". They usually just give me a sheepish grin.

Haha. Walk into them on purpose and let them say sorry.

 

[kickazz]

It is so ubiquitous that i really can see the Google glasses thing taking of when they get it right

 

[little graham]

in south australia you're allowed to ride your bycycle on the footpath.

 

[Plugger35]

This takes the cake, a woman falling into a fountain because she's staring at her phone.

 

[rocker_oz33]

I walk front of them hoping they will walk into a post or a pole or something.
One lady I noticed put Reindeer antlers on her phone..really.

 

[Bomberboyokay]

Is this the latest thing News.com.au pretends to care about?

 

[Reynolds Number]

They even go into that move whilst behind the wheel

 

[Catfish Alley]

 

[Richard Cranium]

WORST. PORTMANTEAU. EVER.

 

[Illinois Nazi]

WORST. PORTMANTEAU. EVER.

I'd even go so far as to say it's the worstmanteauver.

 

[Richard Cranium]

Worstmanteauver sounds like the name of a perennially underwhelming third division soccer club.

 

[Frank Bunn]

WORST. PORTMANTEAU. EVER.

I refudiate that.

 

[scotslad]

Guilty as charged sir ☺although I don't do it as I used to cos I banged my face into a pole as I was so absorbed in my phone, to top it off 2 strangers seen me and found it rather amusing as they rightly should have done, I learnt my lesson

 

[Firestarter]

Guilty as charged sir ☺although I don't do it as I used to cos I banged my face into a pole as I was so absorbed in my phone, to top it off 2 strangers seen me and found it rather amusing as they rightly should have done, I learnt my lesson

I've fallen over because I've stepped on the edge on the footpath twice. Broke my first Galaxy phone the first time, broke my IPhone MP3 player the second.

I've ... also ended up stepping onto an escalator and trying to walk down. It was an up escalator. At least two people on it and two people behind me but going the right way.

 

[rocker_oz33]

I don't understand these Smombies.
At work at lunch time or break time some people rather check FB or chain msg people than eat.when they go back to work they whinge about not having anything to eat....really.

Was at the bank the other day,I noticed every second person on they're phone chain msg'ing at the teller..come on.

 

[rocker_oz33]

I said in another thread but is fitting here.
A guy the other week took his phone on to the cricket field..knob jockey.

 

[JackOutback]

Stupid made-up words: enough's enough.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

"Smobies"?

Good one dad.

 

[ChappyUK]

Stop making up words. Enough is enough.

 

[Frank Bunn]

Stupid made-up words: enough's enough.

All words are made up.

But yeah smombie is a pretty crap word. There does need to be a word for the phenomenon though. I've seen "wexting' used ie walking while texting, but that is also crap. "Distracted walking" isn't very catchy.

 

[JackOutback]

All words are made up.

Touche.

Wait, that's not even an English made up word.

 

[Herne Hill Hammer]

I used to drive a hybrid camry at work, as quiet as. I said to one of my colleagues that once more people were driving cars like this, a lot of people looking at phones are going to get cleaned up.

A week or 2 later there was a story in the news about Japan car manufacturers fit noise making devices to their electric cars so that people can hear them.