It has to be said, computers are great, but they are also bad. They are good in the sense that they enable us to do many things which we otherwise wouldn't be able to do, and they connect us in ways we couldn't have dreamed of many years ago. However, there is a bad side to computer use, and in this article we are going to take a look at the main ways in which your computer could be harming your health.
It's Bad for Your Eyes
Staring at a computer screen for too long is bad for your eyes and makes you feel tired. As a species, we didn't evolve in a way that was suited to staring at one thing for hours on end, especially if it's something close up because this is more straining for our eyes than looking at something further away. It's much better for our eyes to look at different things at varying distances.
One way to combat this is to have your computer near a window. Every few minutes you can look up from your screen and look at the more distant view outside. Another good way to combat it is to force yourself to take a complete computer break every hour. You can even download free software which reminds you every hour to take a ten minute break.
It's a Very Sedentary Thing to Do
When you're sat staring at a screen all day, you're usually so focussed on whatever it is that you're doing on the computer that you're not really moving your body much. As a species, we evolved to be active. Sitting in front of a screen for hours on end is not an active thing to do.
Of course, many of us have jobs which involve a lot of computer use. In many ways this is unavoidable. However, as well as the suggestions mentioned above, there are other ways in which we can address this issue. Reassess your computer use in your job. Do you need to use your computer for everything? For example, instead of sending someone an e-mail, why not walk round to their desk and talk to them.
We Miss Out On Other Fun Things
If you spend all day on a computer at work, I'm willing to bet that you probably use a computer at home quite a lot too. When you've finished your hard day at the office, you like to enjoy watching funny videos, browsing interesting web pages, and chatting to your friends on Facebook or Twitter.
The problem with this is that not only does it mean you will have spent almost the entire day staring at a screen, but you will not have had the time to do other activities which you may otherwise enjoy if you didn't have a computer. For example: reading, going for a walk, visiting your friends in person (instead of just chatting online on Facebook), or maybe even going to the gym. Or let's say it's the weekend. What are you going to do? Spend the day playing an online game, or actually go out somewhere nice for the day?
