INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Image copyrightWeiboImage caption
An image of the ticket of the fine given to "smartphone zombie" Ms Hu in China
A woman has been fined for being a "smartphone zombie" in the eastern Chinese city of Wenzhou, and social media users in China are
The Wenzhou Evening Post reports that the woman violated regulations which came into effect on New Year's Day banning "activities
affecting other vehicles or pedestrians"
Reports of the fine, believed to be the first in the city, have drawn thousands of comments on the popular Chinese social media platform
Weibo, with many applauding the move.A number of people called the fine "commendable" and a "very good" idea
One commenter wrote that they "support" the fine, before urging people to "be responsible for others, and responsible for yourself!" Some
called for the regulations to be "rolled out nationwide" to raise awareness of traffic safety
A popular comment welcomed the new regulations, but added a note of personal concern: "I think this is very good, but I think I'm at huge
risk of being punished."Image:In the Netherlands, floor-level lighting is designed to help 's martphone zombies' cross the road While the
majority of reaction to the fine has been supportive, some have asked questions about how it will operate
"If I happen to be on a zebra crossing and someone calls me, should I not answer the phone In the process of rejecting the call, there's a
tendency to look down at your phone
Is that allowed," one person wrote on Weibo
A number of others questioned where the small amounts of money raised by the fines will go.The problem of distracted pedestrians tapping on
their phones is not confined to Wenzhou.The northern Chinese city of Xi'an has tried to tackle the issue by installing designated lanes for
pedestrians using their phones
Elsewhere, the Hawaiian city of Honolulu introduced legislation to outlaw phone zombies in 2017
In fact, people shuffling about while looking at their phones has become such an issue in Germany, they have coined a word for them -
smombies - a portmanteau of "smartphone zombies".
