May 16, 2016

Warning: Dropping your smartphone is hazardous to your health

When you got yourself a nice new smartphone, that is the moment you feel most happy....., however, imagine dropping that smartphone, a week or two later....*horrors!!*

 The phone screen might not be the only thing that shows cracks. Did you know the fear of losing or breaking your smartphone creates an actual stress response inside the human body that is stronger than the fear of public speaking?! Yeah!! No kidding!!!

The study, conducted by a Hong Kong academic in collaboration with leading device protector OtterBox, uncovered how emotionally attached we are to our devices in Asia.


‘The 21st Century Scale of Stress Report’ showed that a person’s heart rate increases by an average of 15 percent (an increase of 7.45 beats per minute) when their phone is dropped - three times the amount that it increases when giving a public speech. A person’s cortisol level - the hormone released by the body when under stress - increases an average of 32 percent beyond the normal rate (from 8.19 to 10.82 ng/ml) when a person sees their phone crash to the floor.

During the experiment, some assistants appear to accidentally drop what the subjects thought was their phone and measured their physiological reactions. Out of all the tests, dropping the smartphone came out as most stressful and produced the most drastic physiological changes in all the measures.

Bonnie Soon, General Manager of OtterBox Asia Pacific says: “We all know that feeling, when your smartphone flies from your grip and you watch in horror as it falls to the floor. The moments before assessing the damage can feel like a lifetime. The tension and ‘stress’ we feel shows just how emotionally attached we’ve become to these devices.”



What happens to the human body when a smartphone drops - the main findings
Researchers studied subjects via measuring a number of bodily stress responses such as heart rate, respiration rate, finger pulse and cortisol concentration levels. The live experiments compared the effects of a smartphone dropping to three other everyday stressful events - being exposed to sudden loud noises, completing a task under a strict deadline and public speaking. Dropping a device is definitely the most stressful thing a human can endure.

1. The heart skips more than just a beat
If a person has a sudden increase in heart rate, it can mean he/she is heavily stressed, excited, or anxious. When the subjects saw their smartphone being dropped, heart rate variability increased by 15 percent on average - about 7.45 beats per minute - three times more than other stressors. This increase rate is three times more than when they were asked to perform tasks under a short deadline, or to give a public speech. (1.7 beats per minutes).


2. The body releases the stress hormone
Cortisol is a stress hormone that the body releases when a person feels stressed or in danger. When a subject’s smartphone fell to the floor, the cortisol concentration level increased an average of 32 percent (from 8.19 to 10.82 ng/ml) from a normal state.

3. Taking a deep breath
An increase in respiratory intake is a sign that a person needs more oxygen to handle stressful or dangerous situations. When subjects saw their phone dropped on the floor, their respiration rate increased by over 15 percent compared to a resting state. This is four times more than when asked to give a speech in front of a group of strangers.

Women might have a smaller heart physically, but they are the more fearless gender when reacting to modern stresses. The study reveals that male participants experienced bigger stress in all four tasks than female participants.

Men’s cortisol level increased by 22% when their phone was dropped, while women’s changed just 16%. Women, however, did find dropping their phones twice as stressful as public speaking. When measuring respiration rate, men breathe three times as quickly when they drop their phones compared to when they were asked to deliver a speech.

A report commissioned by OtterBox in 20153 revealed just how attached we’ve become to our devices, perhaps showing why we experience such high levels of stress around the mobile world. It is said that 75% of Malaysian smartphone users have damaged their smartphones over 2.8 times in the past 5 years and 20% of them did not have any form of protection such as protective case or screen protector on their smartphones when damage occurred. And yes, that includes yours truly here... my XiaoMi  note was cracked and so did my heart.... huhuhu

When we do break a phone, 76 percent of people say that personal data loss or changing information (e.g. bank accounts) are the most irritating things to deal with. About 72 percent of smartphone users say that not being able to remember important phone numbers is the most frustrating aspect of breaking a smartphone. 



Now I am wiser as I have gotten myself one of the Otterbox Achiever series with streamlined protection ....The OtterBox Achiever Series is custom-designed to provide superior dual-layer protection for our beloved smartphones against any bumps, drops and shock. 



Achiever Series is a custom-designed to provide superior dual-layer protection against bumps, drops and shock. Confidently handle your phone on the go with a secure and slim case that easily slides into your back pocket.


Having one protecting my smartphone gives me the confidence and assurance my phone is now safe and secure against any falls, heck, I can even drop my phone on purpose just to gauge other people's reactions....LOL...



The OtterBox Achiever Series is custom-designed to provide superior dual-layer protection against bumps, drops and shock. Now I can confidently manage my phone on the go with a secure and slim case that easily slides into my back pocket, my bag or even front pocket

I am so in love with my OtterBox Achiever Series which now gives me a much more stress free life, even when my phone accidently drops... so I seriously highly recommend it to everyone who has invested in their dream phone, the latest Samsung or the latest iPhone to get and invest in one of this and save themselves a lot of stress in the unforeseen future... 

For more information, visit otterbox.com
Their motto is "Protecting your mobile world", but personally I have to say that they protect my stress levels too... LOL

Get connected with OtterBox:
OtterBox Hong Kong Facebook : facebook.com/OtterBoxAPAC

OtterBox APAC YouTube : youtube.com/user/OtterBoxAPAC
OtterBox APAC Instagram : instagram.com/OtterBoxAsia



35 comments:

  1. OMG i constantly drop my phone and always get a heart attack for the fear that i will not be able to use it again.. huhu... Thanks for sharing..

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    Replies
    1. I know the feeling having experience it countless times before this.. LOL

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  2. cool that you shared about the scientific study too, hahahah! coz phones are expensive, so our heart drop hahahaha

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  3. My children always drop my phone. I need to get this cover so that not easily spoilt.

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    Replies
    1. Absolutely... this phone cover really save the phone and lower our stress levels...

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  4. I never believe anyone that never drop their phone before, its always good to know how to protect it before it's broken :)

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    Replies
    1. Exactly right... it might seem pricey at RM100+ but it is a great investment.. to replace a crack LCD cost 4-5X more than that

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  5. I need something stronger for my phone too. Wonder how much this one costs?

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  6. Whoa! got such thing now? I need this since I am super clumsy...yeahhhdrop it donno how many times edi.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We all should invest in a proper and good phone cover like this to protect our phones and sanity... LOL

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    2. Heyp! you can get 1 of this here: http://goo.gl/1Sk6qg they office in ampang :)

      Delete
  7. The phone case looks good quality. I'm pretty sure your phone is safe now.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah... my iPhone is safe .. wish I can get Otterbox for my Huawei... huhu

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  8. Oh i think i desperately need this! Thanks for sharing hun! xoxo

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hye! You can get one of the unit from us 10% off :)

      http://forexengineer.us

      Delete
  9. wow, so nice to get this phone case for myself who always drop the phone..ahah

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  10. yes, memang stress betul whenever i drop my phone. thanks for introducing such a good case. :)

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  11. I definitely understand the feeling of dropping hp all the time! Haha but Otterbox definitely help solve this issues =D

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  12. Wahhhh, siap ada research study, memang bagus la, tapi mmg betul, boleh gugur jantung kalau phone jatuh, lagi2 yang tak pakai case. Hehe

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  13. Wahhhh, siap ada research study, memang bagus la, tapi mmg betul, boleh gugur jantung kalau phone jatuh, lagi2 yang tak pakai case. Hehe

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh gosh... setuju sesangat.. entah berapa kali hampir nak lemah jantung bila phone jatuh....

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  14. I have dropped my phone quite a few times. The broken screen really breaks heart. Good info in this post for sure.

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  15. I have dropped my phone in the swimming pool too and what is heartbreaking is data lost.

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  16. Just they have phone cover for old phone such as Samsung Galaxy S4?

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  17. This is a funny post and at the same time, funny. We all need to protect our phones well. Who can live without a smart phone these days?

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  18. U are right my heart really skips a beat when the phone drops!!!
    The cover looks really sturdy and can protect th phone well!
    No more heart skipping!

    Much love,
    Everest
    www.everestsays.com

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  19. Although I don't really scare or have any bad feeling when my phone drops, I guess this case do help my cosuie as they very sayang their smartphones.

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  20. Plan to get one phone casing, this brand seems good and tahan lasak :)

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  21. My heart will jump out if I drop the phone.

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  22. I only use Otterbox for my iPhone. to protect the fragile phone hehe

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  23. Hi, im dropped you an google + comments. :) im on otterbox too, but sometimes lifeproof. :D Can you contact me back? :)

    ReplyDelete

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