social-airplane mode 내부교정2

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Airplane Mode 

by Hwang Se-yeon, Social Reporter, charlevoix@mju.ac.kr 

  Korea has had an increase number of international travelers since 2012, and it is estimated that the number of travelers will reach over 3 million this year. No one expected the age of 3 million annual international travelers to come upon us so quickly. The expectation of going to a place where there is only strangers reaches even more, and there are also increase of the people who visit other countries for busniess porposes.  

  Airplane mode means the mode of blocking the communication of the electrical equipment when boarding the airplane. It is not just the electrical equipment changes. Did you know that our body and brain also changes a lot when we get on board? Just like when airplane mode is on and the communication function is disabled, our body doesn't funcion in its usual way. So what could there be other changes in our body? 

First of all, we experience emotional changes during the flight. It is not difficult to pay attention to a movie when you are shaking, the screen having unbalanced sound, and having so many interupption around. But lots people, who get on board a lot say that they have seen many people cry when seeing movies during long flights, even when the movie is not sad at all. Even when we watch light comedy shows like "The Simpsons" passengers can be too emotional and shed much tears. So, it means that a lot of people can have excess emotions when watching a movie on flight. According to a survey by the Gatwig Airport of London, about 15% of men and 6% of women replied that they have more tendencies of crying when watching a movie on flight then watching the movie at home. .So that is why the  Atlantic airline shows the warning message "The following film containes scenes which may cause viewers of a sensitive disposition to cry, weep, sob, wail, howl, bawl, bleat or mewl. Please alert cabin crew if you need a tissue or a shoulder to cy on." when prior to showing the passengers the movie they are trying to watch.  

  So why do poeple become more emotional when on flight? There are many hypothesies about this. First of all, the sadness of leaving loved ones, excitement of traveling, and nostalgia is mentioned as the reason. But it is also scientifically estimated that, the flight itself can be the reason at all. When we are exposed to the height of 6-8,000 feets of atmospheric pressure, we can express many emotions. That could explain why people cry more when watching the movie on flight. Steven Leg, professor of the Massey university of New Zealand, recently concluded on his reserch that the light low atmosphere of the flight can have a impact on emotions. He also said that the high altitude can make people even happier or mor sad, and that happiness can be shown as shading tears during flights. So, it can be concluded that the boredom of the flight and the relief that the airplane movie gives combines with the privacy of the little screen and personal headphones, can lead to the tears of joy rather than the sadness.  

Secondly, according to the a research of the Lugthansa airline, being on the flight can also have a bad impact on human perception and feel more scrachiness. According to the research, when the low atmosphere and humidity combines together, our ability to feel the saltness and the sweetness can fall as low as 30%. For example,richness of the tomato juice are more strong when on flight. This is because the dry air deterioates our senses, making the food taste flat. So that is why many airlines add more seasoning on foods, and these foods are more salty then the everyday food that we eat. Also, even a healthy adult can have differences of ability of making decisions, remembering, and caculating. Accoording to Johann Hinckelin, head of the German Aviation Medical Academy and professor of the Department of Emergency Medicine University of Cologne, the hypoxia lowers the oxygen concetration of the blood, leading to the drop in cognitive ability. 

  Like these stated above. there are other symptoms of people showing more tireness or having more depression on flight. But like professor Hinckelin said, the reaserch should be continued for the further report. I hope that many more interesting researches would come out and interest us more. Airplanes can be a special place of not only giving people the experience of departing, meeting, challenging, but also giving us various physiological changes. So if you see someone who is crying when watching a rather uninteresting movie or feeling bad all of a sudden on flight, do not panic or think is strange!