The stereotypical senior citizen shakes his cane at the rascals and youngsters, claiming that technology is terrible, and that it’s bad for your health and the economy and the government and the environment and…well, back when THEY were kids things were better! Also, get off my lawn! Young whippersnappers!
Well, as it turns out, those fictional grumpy old people might just be on to something about the technology, at least.
When I was looking around for a good topic for the blog, I came across a term I’d not heard before and had to do some more research. It’s called ‘text neck’ and apparently, it’s quite the problem. The article I read claimed it was an ‘epidemic’ and used lots of other such catastrophic-sounding words (which always sets off warning bells in my mind). So, of course, I had to read more about this epidemic. I mean, I text. Most people nowadays do. How could it be bad for you?
Well, according to the article, and information published by the Text Neck Institute (yeah, that’s a real thing), hunching over smartphones, tablets, e-readers and laptops can actually change the way that your spine fits together and causes neck and back pain. It looks pretty uncomfortable too:
The left shows normal spine curvature. The right is someone with ‘text neck.’ Or they might be a robot. Whichever. Thanks to Dr. Dean Fishman for the images
The solution to this ‘epidemic’ of spinal issues? Don’t hunch over. See? It’s that simple. Several different physiotherapy sites and the Text Neck Institute recommend holding your phone/device at eye level or, at the VERY least, to not spend hours at a time hunched over a tiny screen. Can’t handle not looking at your phone? There’s an app for that. The Text Neck Institute has an app that sets off a warning light if you are holding your phone wrong and causing ‘text neck’ tendencies, which is, I suppose, kind of helpful if you like your spine how it is. Personally, I’m a fan of just developing telekinesis so we don’t have to hold our phones. But that’s just me, and it’s still a work in progress. I’ll let you know when I perfect it. Until then, looking up occasionally from that slender digital device is probably easier.]]>
Posted in Whimsy