Scientists have issued an urgent warning to people who use their phone at the dinner table.
It’s well known that for many social media users, the phone camera eats before the person does.
Many might argue that people online need to feast their eyes on what we’re eating before we can tuck in but now experts are warning that it might not be such a good idea after all.
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In fact, having your phone out at the dinner table might not just be rude, it could also be detrimental to your health.
According to Dr Gareth Nye, who is a senior lecturer in physiology at the University of Chester, your smartphone can carry harmful germs that could then spread to your table.
This can cause things like food poisoning and skin infections.
He explained: “Mostly GI-like conditions such as diarrhoea, vomiting, and other stomach upsets.
“However, in people with compromised immune systems, it can cause very nasty infections like sepsis or pneumonia.”
So what kind of bacteria do our phones harbor?
Well, according to the expert, it depends on the owner’s line of work.
He said: “Healthcare workers, even if not frontline, can be growing a range of bacteria with the most common being Pseudomonas aeruginosa (which can cause severe respiratory or skin infections) and Acinetobacter baumannii (which can lead to meningitis).
“Non-healthcare workers still carry bacteria on their phones, with Gram-positive spore bacteria being the most common.
“These are linked to food poisoning and other GI issues.
“Almost all phone surfaces will carry the common dangerous bacteria E. coli and faecal streptococci.”
It might not be comforting to hear this but the bacteria on our phones has usually been transferred from our hands.
The expert continued: “Our hands touch around 150 different items every day, more if you are a commuter, for example.
“Each one of these surfaces has the potential to lead to contamination with more dangerous bacteria.
“Once on our hands, the next place our hands normally touch is a phone screen, and bacteria transfers from any object we touch to the phone.
“This is particularly true when we consider phone usage in the toilet.
“[Bacteria] naturally find their way to our hands during trips to the toilet, then to our phones, which will continue a passage of transfer until both surfaces are clean.
“This can cause the spread of bacteria around the dinner table if you also have your phone in use while eating.”
So maybe keep your phone off the table while enjoying your Christmas dinner!