Katy Johnson hit her forehead into a tree branch while walking and texting on her cell phone a couple of weeks ago. "I'm pretty sure I was replying to two texts at a time," the 18-year-old girl said, recalling one text was from her dad and one from a friend. "I was just so devoted to the texts that I just walked right into it." There appear to be a growing number of serious injuries that occur when people use their cell phones to send text messages while also doing something else, such as walking. Bill Haselow, an emergency physician, said the risks are real. He treated two serious texting-while-walking injuries at the Mequon hospital in the past few months. Both teens suffered a broken nose after falling face first on a sidewalk. If you're over 25 or so, it might be hard to appreciate the popularity of exchanging word messages that you compose and read on the screen of your cell phone. But there's no doubt they have an attraction. Perez, a new college graduate, said the number of text messages she sends and receives easily exceeds the number of calls she makes and receives on her cell. Perez said her bills show she typically sends 3,000 texts per month, or an average of 100 per day.www.ks5u.com Perez said she favors texting because it's less formal than calling someone and because it's easier to communicate while doing another activity -- although she is aware now that texting and walking aren't always easy to do together. "I only talk on the phone if I really have to," Perez said. The popularity of cell phones has led to efforts to limit their use. Illinois is considering a ban on walkers using wireless devices while crossing streets. And Wisconsin passed a bill to forbid text messaging by drivers. But don't expect laws to change addiction -- er, habits. According to the author,   _  .
it's nothing serious to text while walking texting and walking are easy to do together laws won't help much to change the present situation it's crazy that so many people get injured while texting