Pleasant Thought: I wonder how we're damaging our eyes (screen) and brains (wireless)

[Greenone]

I know...I'm being a downer. But my eyes hurt when i look at the screen too long (even after turning down brightness and enlarging text under View). I've read recent reports/studies that show people's eyes are becoming seriously damaged and we're all gonna be blind in the next 10 or 20 years (!). Also, we're so surrounded by wireless technology now days with our laptops, cell phones, etc., that I wonder what the effects of these are going to be long-term. there was a recent big study that said we're all screwed in that dept., too. It's easy to dismiss now, but someday...yikes.

I'm not the hypochondriac (sp) type, either, JSYK.

 

[sjpetry]

Thats why I always wear my tinfoil hat. It also helps with the aliens.

 

[PlaceofDis]

if your eyes hurt after that amount of time, i would to see an eye doctor. you might need glasses/contacts or to update your perscription.

computers have been around for over 20 years now, TVs even longer. i dont see anything happeneing because of the screen usage personally.

and i doubt that the cellphones, and wireless internet will have any adverse affects either. but thats just me

 

[Deepdale]

There clearly are valid points in what you mentioned, but most of us are long-term users and old habits are hard to modify, even when there are health concerns. My rating on the pleasant thought scale would be 5.

 

[Greenone]

Thats why I always wear my tinfoil hat. It also helps with the aliens.

lol

 

[Deepdale]

Thats why I always wear my tinfoil hat. It also helps with the aliens.

Please tell me that such an accessory, along with anti-alien repellents, are only needed by PC users. Or are we all traveling down the same creek?

 

[katie ta achoo]

Please tell me that such an accessory, along with anti-alien repellents, are only needed by PC users. Or are we all traveling down the same creek?

Naw, the waves sent out by AirPort extreme and express are special ones.
They umm... send out... awesome waves... to make you... more awesome.

/goes to stand 3 inches from her base station
//HAAAAAA
///live fast, die young!
////well, that should be live with a fast internet connection.

 

[Les Kern]

Eyes get tired... that's the only fact. Reading in low light, looking at a computer screen... I've never seen any studies that support eye damage from that. Find a reputable study and I will reconsider.
As for wireless, those signals are non-ionizing. Radiation, sure, but not RADIATION. They had a huge long term study done in NY that traced folks living under powerlines (the 500,000 volt kind) and those not. They discovered no data to support the theory that electromagnetic radiation was harmful in any way. As a matter of fact in quite a few neighborhoods the folks under the lines were HEALTHIER on average.
It's good that folks continue to look for things that can harm us, but those two... fergit it.

 

[Greenone]

if your eyes hurt after that amount of time, i would to see an eye doctor. you might need glasses/contacts or to update your perscription.

computers have been around for over 20 years now, TVs even longer. i dont see anything happeneing because of the screen usage personally.

and i doubt that the cellphones, and wireless internet will have any adverse affects either. but thats just me

I wonder if that's why all this stuff is starting to be so prevalent - cause it's been been about 20 years. Are you telling me that your eyes never ache after starting at a screen all day long? Jeez, maybe I should get my eyes checked. I'm also 35 - hmph - I mean 36 (on Wednesday) so it could be from aging eyes, too. I know one of the key suggestions they made was not to sit too close to the screen, so that might be a big factor here. That would explain why these studies have been specifically about computer screens, not TV's; most people sit at quite a distance from their TV's compared to their monitors.

I hope you're right that being surrounded by wireless technology (ever increasing, too) won't give us all cancer - ha ha ha I sound so paranoid - I swear I don't usually - just wanted to face the "tickle" of a thought head-on and find out what others think about it. I've noticed "computer people" tend to be pretty defensive when it comes to anything non-supportive or even slightly questioning of computers (not just health-effects but other issues to, for example regarding parenting choices, the lesser human contact/socializing that people will be experiencing over time, hands-on learning vs. virtual, etc.). That said, most of us are defensive when it comes to something we love!

Anyway, I hope you guys are right. There's a part of me that wants to save these comments and in however many years pull it out and see where we stand, then! I have no question that our eyes are gonna go bad as we age anyway, I just wonder if this will make them go bad sooner. Sight (or being able to look at something useful for a useful-enough period of time without our eyes hurting from it) is something I know I take for granted. As for the rest of our health (e.g. our brains), hell, we're all gonna die eventually and we're so surrounded by so many kinds of polutants at this point - techno-polutants or not - that there's little or no point in fighting it! To do so would be to fight technology and there's no turning back now!

 

[whocares]

They discovered no data to support the theory that electromagnetic radiation was harmful in any way.

Umm, I guess that gamma rays arn't all that bad then*




(* gamma ray = electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength <= 10^-13 m)

j/k - I got your point

 

[Greenone]

Naw, the waves sent out by AirPort extreme and express are special ones.
They umm... send out... awesome waves... to make you... more awesome.

/goes to stand 3 inches from her base station
//HAAAAAA
///live fast, die young!
////well, that should be live with a fast internet connection.

Too funny!

 

[wdlove]

It would be very prudent to have your eyes checked is they are bother you. Better to be safe than sorry.

It's important to take time to look away from the screen occasionally.

 

[Greenone]

It would be very prudent to have your eyes checked is they are bother you. Better to be safe than sorry.

It's important to take time to look away from the screen occasionally.

Yup I'm definitely gonna have my eyes checked. They ache after sitting at the computer for about 4 or 5 hours straight. Always helps when I have a lamp on near by...

 

[Clix Pix]

I find that I am more comfortable when sitting at a bit of a distance from my monitor -- one reason I prefer desktops to laptops. I really love my new 15" PB but am thinking of plugging an external (Apple, of course) keyboard into it when I'm using it at a desk so I can get a little more distance between my eyes and that 15" screen. However, most of the time when I'm home I'm using the iMac; the PB is meant for portability, of course, and usually when I'll be out somewhere using it or in a hotel room I probably wouldn't be on it for as many hours as I tend to be on any computer when at home. In that case I can deal with the closer distance between the screen and my eyes.... that 15" PB screen is gorgeous! (I'm one of the lucky few who has not experienced any problems with my monitor: no lines, no flickers, etc.)

I really love the backlit keyboard on the PB -- so cool! Now I can type in a dim room or outside on my deck as evening falls and still see what I'm doing!

As for complaints about wireless connectivity and the PB, I have had no problems with that at all -- compared to my old (and admittedly inexpensive) Windows laptop, the PB works just great anywhere around the house and outside on the deck. It's nice to finally really be able to enjoy wireless!

OTB

 

[Deepdale]

Yup I'm definitely gonna have my eyes checked. They ache after sitting at the computer for about 4 or 5 hours straight.

That is quite a substantial length of time ... having eyes checked is something that should never be neglected and decent lighting is also needed, but you should take a 10-15 break from the screen every two hours to allow your eyes to focus on normal sized objects at regular distances. I find that to be beneficial and restful.

 

[Greenone]

OTB: yes sitting at a distance is so important. I think I might get a keyboard too, for that same reason. Ha - and then I'll have the excuse to also get the icurve! I'm one of the lucky ones too - no screen lines or other issues, just looks great.

Deepdale: I'll remember to take a break every couple of hours, thanks!