Covid-19 has made people realize the importance of maintaining hygiene and cleanliness. Almost every person uses sanitizers and cleans their hands multiple times a day.
But what if we tell you that even after all the cleaning and hygiene practices, you are carrying millions of bacteria with you all day? Well, yes, you are, and these bacteria are on your smartphones. Notably, your smartphone can be one of the dirtiest things you carry and can harbour as many germs and bacteria as a toilet seat.”
According to a study by NordVPN, six out of 10 people take their phones to the washroom while conducting their business, especially youngsters. Among the participants in the study, 61.6 per cent admitted to checking their social media accounts such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram while sitting on the toilet seat. The research further states, “A third (33.9%) stay in touch with current affairs on the loo, while a quarter (24.5%) use the time to take care of life admin by messaging – or even calling – their loved ones.”
While smartphone addiction can be seen as a bad habit, what is even worse is that this habit turns smartphones into breeding grounds for deadly bacteria and pathogens. As people keep themselves busy on toilet seats, bacteria and germs also find their way onto the smartphone’s surface through their hands. Eventually, continuously using the smartphone throughout the day can introduce these bacteria into our bodies through our mouth, eyes, and nose.
Report suggests that germs can live on mobile phone screens for up to 28 days. In a report, Dr Hugh Hayden, infection control specialist, told Yahoo Life UK. “It’s an established fact that smartphones can carry up to ten times more germs than toilet seats, and from a hygiene viewpoint, touchscreens have been described as the ‘mosquito of the digital age’ as being vectors of infectious disease.”
“When we touch shared surfaces, then use our smartphone screen there is a risk of cross contamination, the phone itself then becomes a source of infection,” he further said.
Significantly, toilet seats can harbour various harmful germs, including Staphylococcus aureus. These pathogens can cause urinary tract infections, abdominal pain, diarrhoea, infections, food poisoning, skin infections like abscesses, respiratory infections like sinusitis, and other complications.
In conclusion, do not take your phone to the washroom. It’s not just your phone that can get contaminated; you might also risk contaminating your earbuds or other gadgets you carry with you in the washroom with harmful germs. Therefore, it’s best to skip entertainment and prioritize hygiene for health.
