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In light of MWC 2012, how timely that an infographic depicting how mobile devices are ruining our bodies debuts. At least, that's the message from this infographic made by Mezzmer, highlighting the dangers of mobile technology on our overall health and well-being. Some of the stats might be a little questionable, and the cancer bit may have been debunked to an extent, but there are still a few good points worth listening to.
Mom always harangued you about your posture, and for good reason. Nasty neck and back problems can arise from poor posture, which the infographic claims is getting worse thanks to our reliance on mobile technology. 91% of those who use mobile phones to text hyper-flex their necks while texting. The graphic also claims that arthritis is popping up in cell phone users as young as 15 years old, but it's hard to claim that there is a causal relationship between the two – arthritis in young people isn't actually a new phenomenon.
The danger to eyes might be a little more significant. Mobile phone users have been found to blink significantly less while using their devices, leading to dry eyes and strained eye muscles, which can create permanent blurring in vision. That hyper-flexing of the neck mentioned above, combined with eye strain, is cited as a source of headaches in mobile phone users. The infographic also claims that mobile phone users are at more risk for nearsightedness, claiming that the human eye is optimized to view things at a distance of 20 feet. I'm not sure how credible of a slight that is on mobile phones, because books have existed for a long time, and it's pretty hard to read one from 20 feet away.
Hearing is also cited as being at-risk, with 37% of mobile users likely to develop tinnitus, or ringing in the ear. For those who use their devices for more than 10 minutes a day (so, everyone with a mobile device), the chances of developing tinnitus go up to 71%, which sounds a little dubious to me.
The dangers of cell phone radiation are mentioned, but those claims are still very much in question scientifically. The last point, though, is one even the biggest mobile phone lover would be hard-pressed to argue with. Texting while driving makes users four times as likely to get into an accident – around the same as driving while intoxicated. Considering that out of all the dangers cited above, texting while driving is the most immediately deadly, it's worth noting, even if you've heard that warning about a million times by now.
So, are mobile phones ruining our lives, or is this infographic too much graphic and not enough info? The answer, like it usually does, probably lies somewhere in the middle. With all things, moderation should be the order of the day, so if you're starting to feel a little woozy after too much time with the mobile phone, maybe put it down for a while.
© 2012 Chip Chick
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