Text Walking or Text-walking or Textwalking noun [uncountable] walking along while texting from a mobile phone, especially when this makes you unaware of the people or things around you
Text-walker noun [countable]
Text-walk verb [intransitive]
Text-walking is now a recognised concept in US English, The word hit the spotlight in the summer of 2008, when it emerged that the state of Illinois had proposed a bill banning the use of mobile phones while crossing the street. Under the new law, text-walking is considered a criminal offence, carrying a $25 fine for perpetrators.
In July 2008, the American College of Emergency Physicians issued a warning about accidents caused by 'oblivious texters', reporting a rise in the number of serious injuries involving text-messaging pedestrians and cyclists.
Background – from DWT to text-walking
Text-walking is a classic example of a new compound filling the gap in the lexicon for a concept emerging from the impact of new technology on daily life.
On the same theme, there's also some evidence for use of the expression read-walking, referring to the practice of reading (the paper, a novel) while walking along – people who do this are correspondingly described as read-walkers.
Both expressions seem to take inspiration from the established compound sleepwalking, which refers to the practice of walking around (and sometimes doing other things) while asleep.
Another expression now used in US English is DWT, an abbreviation for driving while texting.
adapted from Macmillan Dictionary
