It seems like every time I am texting in front of my parents, they are always telling me how bad it is. They say things like "Your going to get carpal tunnel from all that texting." and "your poor thumbs, how can you do that all the time?" I decided to research if texting really was bad for your hands. I came across a very well written article on a health website. It said that texting, along with video games, ipods/mp3 players, and portable game systems can cause injury to hands and arms if used repeatedly. "The small, definite, repetitive movements used to manoeuvre controls on these tiny handsets can begin to cause pain over time. The thumb, while good for gripping, is not a very dextrous digit and is particularly susceptible to injury", explained chartered physiotherapist, Bronwyn Clifford. The article also gave tips for people who do enjoy texting on how to still text while minimizing injury to your hands. Some of these tips which I found helpful were taking breaks during texting, using both hands, and massaging your arms if they are sore.
Personally, I find that my hands only hurt if I am texting continuously, which is not very often. I mostly use texting when I am in a place where I cannot talk on the phone, or when I need to send a short message to a group of people. I find video games to be more painful to my hands and fingers. The video games I play last about 5-10 minutes, wheras sending a text takes under a minute. Also, many video games are played aggresively, and I find I need to apply force to win them. I rarely play video games because I find my hands are too sore after them and it is not worth it. I appreciate the author offering tips to the texters and gamers of America to prevent them from experiencing perilous hand problems.
2 comments:
This is a great example of something that seems like great one sided progress until you discover the bad side as well. I never knew about the health problems that can come from texting, I guess it goes to show that almost every advancement in society is somewhat two sided.
Great post! I really liked how you showed such a negative side to something most people would call an "advancement". I have heard multiple situations where people have gotten slight injurys from things such as guitar hero or texting. I suppose it is not is human genetics to move hands, or thumbs in that particular way. Aside from health issues, I also recall hearing studies done on how things such as texting can effect social skills. Currently, many people simply send a short, concise text message, instead of calling someone. This ruins real human contact, which is why people argue it is bad for social skills. Also, I have both experienced, and witnessed people with friends, who are texting others. This ruins human contact in that way as well. It seems as if there may be both pros and cons to every form of progress. If this is the case, why do humans strive to make "progress" at all?
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