10 ways your smartphone could kill you

Do you ever think if your smartphone can kill you?

Well, wonder no more, because the answer is: Absolutely. Your phone is basically a bomb waiting to go off – it’s just waiting for you to take your eyes off it for a second, and set it on your pillow at night, or drop it in the bathtub while it’s plugged into the charger. So before you do anything else, throw your phone across the room and then read on to find out the many ways it’s plotting your death.

 

The battery could overheat and explode

In 2009, a Chinese man died after his phone exploded and the flying debris severed a major artery in his neck.

 

The charger could electrocute you

The family of 23-year-old Ma Ailun claims that she was electrocuted (and died) after she picked up her iPhone while the device was charging. Of course, experts say this is a lie (though local police confirmed that she did die of electrocution, but did not verify whether her phone was involved in said electrocution).

It could overheat and burn you to death

Your phone doesn’t have to explode to kill you – it could just burn, slowly but surely. Plenty of people who sleep with their phone wake up to find that beds aren’t exactly ideal environments for electronics, like this 13-year-old girl from North Texas who woke up to a scorched pillow and sheets after she fell asleep next to her Samsung Galaxy S4.

 

The radiation could give you cancer

According to the American Cancer Society, studies on the link between cellphone use and cancer have had mixed results. But some studies have found a possible link—such as studies from a research group in Sweden which has reported an increased risk of tumors on the side of the head where the phone is held.  So I think it’s safe to say that your phone will give you cancer and you will die from it.

 

You could fall down the stairs (or off a cliff) while texting and walking

People are even worse at texting and walking than they are at texting and driving. Don’t believe me? 14-year-old Christopher Cepeda died after he stepped in front of a car while texting and walking in Florida.

   

Someone could shoot you for using it in a movie theater

The message about turning off your phone so as not to disturb other guests that plays before the movie starts could save your life. In Florida, 43-year-old Chad Oulson was shot and killed after he got in a fight with another moviegoer who had asked him to stop texting during the film.

You could die while taking a selfie

So many people have died trying to take daring selfies that Russian police have taken to handing out brochures that outline safe selfie-taking guidelines. Some notable deaths: A couple fell off a cliff while taking a selfie in Portugal, two teenagers were trampled to death by an elephant in Kenya, and a 17-year-old girl plunged to her death from atop a bridge in Russia.

 

Its battery could die, and you could end up having a complete meltdown

This young Hong Kong woman didn’t die, per se, but she did appear to go completely insane after her phone died on the subway.

 

You could get shot trying to retrieve it

Canadian teenager Jeremy Cook was shot and killed after he tried to retrieve his phone (which he left in a taxi) by tracking it down with an app. Police say Cook confronted the men who had his phone and died from multiple gunshot wounds.

You could drop it in the bathtub

You know how they tell you not to use hairdryers near a tub full of water? Same goes for other plugged-in electric things, like smartphones. 24-year-old Evgenia Sviridenko died after dropping her charging iPhone in the bathtub.