Study: Touch screen devices harbor germs

This may not be a shock to most people with say, common sense, but a new study has found that touch screen devices are just riddled with germs and other bacteria. Hope you got a flu shot already.

According to the Sacramento Bee, a Stanford University study has found that the risks of transmitting germs and bacteria between a glass or touch screen surface to human skin is fairly high. For example, if a virus is sitting on top of your iPhone, it is likely that 30% of that will make it to your fingertips.

The Bee continues on with some additional scary stats. Take this one from Proporta, a company that sells antimicrobial cases, that asserts that "the average mobile phone has 25,127 germs per square inch."

This isn't exactly the first time anyone has considered studying this. Just take this one example from Manchester Metropolitan University a few years back that found the inside of a cell phone is dirtier than the bottom of a shoe.

While all of this might be gross to think about, I don't think it will stop anyone from buying or using gadgets with touch screen. It's become too popular and too convenient a technology for anyone to quit now. But it might breed more anti-germ, tech-related products. At the very least, it might be a good idea to keep a bottle of Purell on you at all times.

If you're a real germaphobe but you can't imagine parting ways with your smartphone or tablet, you could always spring for a UV-enabled sanitizing station, like the Violight that is supposed to roll out this month. Otherwise, you'll just be festering and feeding this very sick addiction.