How many times do you look at your smart phone in a 5 minute time frame? A Better question is- how long are you not looking at your smart phone? Recent statistics and reports state that the pedestrian death rate is on the rise all due to lack of situational awareness when crossing the street.

Smart phone's provides a plethora of information at our fingertips. Information that is constantly getting sent and or received. Whether your looking at scores of the big game, responding to an e-mail from your boss, or texting your girlfriend- it tends to grab our attention. Especially with all the social media apps like Twitter, Facebook, Vine, Instagram, and so on. We can all agree that smart phones have changed our attention span or take our attention away from whats going on in the world in front of us.

How many times do you sit in the same room with your friends or loved ones while playing with your smart phone? It's that captivating to most of us.

I've read countless reports of pedestrians being hit by vehicles while texting/walking and not paying attention. The smart phone grasps attention so well that people have not heard a speeding car coming their way. What about a bad guy coming to rob you or do you harm. Would you hear or see them? In many states its illegal to drive and operate a smart phone due to the countless accidents associated with use. Forget about the possibility of you being tailed and trying to lose them- hitting a tree or 18 wheeler isn't much for survival is it?

Start being cognizant about the amount of time you are on your phone while walking, driving, and while just standing around. Next time your shopping or in town; start watching everyone else as they focus all their attention on their smart phones. It will surprise you. These folks look like mindless zombies stumbling around. What I like to call "soft-targets". They are making it easy for any criminal opportunist to ambush them.

I'm not saying to not look at or operate your smart phone. Just start recognizing the amount of time you spend on it and how it could affect your situational awareness. Pay attention to your surroundings and don't spend more than 10 straight seconds staring at it without noticing your surroundings. Not to mention take a minute and enjoy whats going on around you and update your status later!