Reduce time spent on gadgets this weekend

[FlyJ]

 

Are you fond of checking your phone for email and Blackberry messages every five minutes? Do you reach for it during a board meeting or religious services when all phones should be switched off? Then you may have caught the fever.

 

Experts say if you respond to emails, Blackberry messages, Facebook, Twitter or WhatsApp messages at night and you feel disconnected when you wake up with no message from the various social networking sites on your mobile app, you are a smart phone addict.

 

It is not only you. Experts say America and South Korea, with over 2.5 million smart phone addicts, are currently battling with this addiction among their student population.

 

They say it has reduced the mental and academic performance of their students who are ardent users of mobile devices.

 

According to a Rutgers University study, being addicted to your Blackberry is similar to being addicted to drugs. The study authors add that as many as 40 per cent of smart phone users could be described as being addicted to the Internet or some form of mobile technology.

 

Anything can be abused, including smart phones, says psychologist, Dr. Laura Martin, who wrote the book, “Breaking Technology,” in which she describes how her addiction to smart phone almost took her life in a road traffic accident in 2012.

 

Flashing back to before the unfortunate incident, Martin says, “I used to check my smart phone compulsively. And the more I used it, the more I had the urge to look at it. In the office, while walking my kids to school, in meetings… Even while making breakfast.

 

“Sometimes, it is in my hand before I even know what I’m searching for. Sometimes, I tap the screen absent mindedly – looking at my email, a local blogger, my calendar, and Twitter. I was holding on to it every minute. I was even typing on it when I was hit by a car right in my neigbourhood.”

 

It is a modern compulsion, according to a 2012 survey by the Pew Research Centre, which says 46 per cent of all adults now own a smart phone not because they need it but because they want it.

 

That modern gadgets have changed the world is an understatement. No one wants to go back to the days of no television, no Internet and definitely no cell phone.

 

Each day, tech companies churn out the latest versions of laptops and mobile phones, while household and kitchen appliances are not left out.

 

While it is easy to get caught up in the rave of the moment, there is increasing scientific evidence linking ‘electropollution’ to the rise in cancer, birth defects, fibromyalgia (rheumatic condition characterized by muscular or musculoskeletal pain with stiffness and localized tenderness at specific points on the body), Alzheimer’s disease, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, depression, learning disabilities and even Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

 

According to the World Health Organisation, ‘electronic smog,’ created by electricity, is “one of the most common and fastest growing environmental influences.” Experts therefore warn that it is important that one is fully aware of the ill effects of these modern gadgets on health.

 

Researchers at Carnelle Montelle University, Toronto, Canada, in a report entitled, “Tech Injury,” give a brief outline of how these gadgets impact human health.

 

Texter’s neck

 

This syndrome is associated with mobile phones, laptops and tablet use. The report states that those who engage in texting or simply reading while hunched over laptops easily strain their necks. Chiropractors say the pain can be severe.

 

The experts note that this habit affects blood circulation, which can lead to tennis elbow, whereby the exterior region of the elbow becomes sore.

 

Doctors in India say they see between 30 and 40 patients suffering from texter’s neck every month, and they are mostly youngsters.

 

Bad posture

 

Physiotherapist and posture specialist, Dr. Lauren James, says those who hunch over laptops while working are prone to back pain due to bad posture. James notes that incorrect posture directly affects the shape of the spine and causes pain in the muscles of the back and the shoulders.

 

She says, “Eighty per cent of laptop users face the risk of nerve damage due to poor posture. Slouching on the chair while using the laptop carries the same risk, as it causes dowager’s hump or the curving of the upper back.”

 

Carpal tunnel

 

This is popularly known as texter’s thumb, which James says is caused by heavy texting. According to her, people who spend at least four hours each day tapping on their laptops or cell phones are at risk of developing this condition.

 

“This is for those who enjoy texting and spend hours chatting. Texter’s thumb starts with a shooting pain, burning sensation, as well as numbness in the hands. The strength in the hands of the patients also decreases and they find difficulty in maintaining a grip on everyday objects,” she states.

 

Corrective measures include wearing braces on the hands, which can be quite embarrassing for youngsters and adults who are mostly afflicted with texter’s thumb.

 

Brain cancer

 

For those who believe in the dangers of the mobile phone, exposure to cell phone radiation may increase your risks for developing brain cancer over time, according to experts.

 

A recent study by Finnish scientists found a 40 per cent increase in the risks of brain tumour for those who use these phones for more than 10 years. The brain tumour was most likely to be located on the side of the head where the phone was held.

 

In addition, a Swedish study has found that brain cells could be destroyed by mobile phone radiation; they warn that the present generation of teenagers runs the risk of going senile before their middle age!

 

In India and the U.S., clinical trials have raised the possibility that men who use mobile phones very frequently have reduced sperm counts.

 

Obviously there is also some media hype on some of these issues. However, there is no question about the ill effects of EMF and, especially, the radiation released by cell phones and their effects on the brain of children.

 

Some studies are, to some extent, underplaying these ill effects. At present, most scientists agree that children under the age of eight should not be permitted to use mobile phones – a warning sidestepped by most lawmakers.

 

Sleep loss

The lead researcher, Dr. Manny Philips, in the study by Canadian scientists, which was conducted in a sleep clinic, concludes that sleep deprivation is quite common among those whose lives revolve around their electronic devices – be it laptop, tablet, phone, gaming gadgets or even the TV.

 

They need not say more. If the time you spend texting, emailing or “pinging” on your smart phones on weekend rivals that which you spend with your spouse, children or friends, listen to the experts. It is time to break the addiction, starting from this weekend.

 

Source

[dequeen]

well, well, well. May We find grace to adhere to the advice given here. Amen.

[relangel]

This is an interesting article but it will take time to get over the habit.