Beware of tech risks

AS a tech- savvy society, we have become accustomed to constantly being plugged in – whether we are facing computer screens at work, updating social media on our phones, listening to music on an iPod or watching television on these gadgets have become important in our day- to- day lives.

Although this has undoubtedly increased the quality of life in many ways, excessive use of gadgets can be detrimental to health, especially when it comes to:

– Do you ever find that your eyes feel dry or strained, or that your vision starts to blur, when you have been on the computer for a few hours? It is possible to overwork your eyes behind the screen. This is known as computer vision syndrome and it is surprisingly common, albeit temporary.

It happens because we do not blink as often as needed to keep the front surfaces of the eyes moist and clean when using gadgets at a close distance, causing the eyes to dry out.

Looking at things up close also causes the eyes to converge slightly as the pupils contract and eye muscles adjust the size of the lenses.

It is no wonder that health professionals and mothers everywhere remind us to take breaks from screen time – prolonged use keeps the eyes converged for a long time, which

Vision

strains the eye muscles and causes headaches.

Avoid reading on small screens and use darker backgrounds and screens to reduce the contrast with text. Take breaks from your computer to rest your eyes and don’t forget to blink.

What you can do:

– You may have heard of the term “text neck”, which refers to the pain felt in the neck from long periods of staring down at your phone. When the head tilts forward and down, extra pressure is placed on the cervical spine, which can cause its wear and tear over time and lend to poor posture.

Young people are already beginning to exhibit symptoms of tech- related musculoskeletal damage. The British Chiropractic Association found that almost half of the 16- to 24- year- old population in the United Kingdom suffers from neck and back pain as a result of sitting with gadgets for too long.

Besides that, continually exerting pressure on the wrists and fingers while operating a keyboard and mouse can induce repetitive strain injury, which not only causes pain but can impair function of affected muscles.

Musculoskeletal function