Doctor Warns of the Hidden Danger of Touchscreens

snydeq writes "Dr. Franklin Tessler discusses the hidden stress-related injuries of touchscreen use, and how best to use smartphones, tablets, and touch PCs to avoid them. 'Touchscreen-oriented health hazards are even more insidious because most people aren't even aware that they exist. The potential for injury from using touchscreens will only go up ... as the rise of the touchscreen means both new kinds of health hazards and more usage in risky scenarios,' Tessler writes, providing tips for properly positioning touchscreens and ways to avoid repetitive stress injuries and eyestrain."

Comments

Not this again.....

[icebike]

More hype to sell the same tripe.

Seems to be simply latching onto the current fad toy and trying to saddle it with the same things they have been attributing to computers since the 80's.
There is nothing new in the article, simply attributing the same (largely imaginary) "diseases" to a different activity. But by mentioning touch screens they grab the headlines. Nothing about a touch screen forces you into the same position, viewing distance, or hand movements, in fact a tablet is probably the remedy for such complaints more than the cause.

But they trot out the same stuff they were crying about with desktop computers: Repeated motion injuries, Posture, Eyestrain.

I'm surprised they left off testicular heating.

Really? Touch screens?
This looks like building a case for more insurance fraud if you ask me.

Re:Not this again.....

[MoonBuggy]

I...get repetitive stress injuries easily (had to drive one-handed for 6 months once from lifting a beer keg into my car)

Genuine question: how does lifting a keg equate to repetitive stress? I can understand pulling a muscle or something, but lifting something in and out of the car once or twice seems far from all but the most excessive definition of 'repetitive'.

Re:Not this again.....

[iamhassi]

More hype to sell the same tripe.

Here's the reasons listed in the article:
--Repeated motion injuries, like using your thumbs to type
--unnatural postures and forces, such as tilting their hands too far inward or outward while tapping or putting force on their wrists while typing.
--Eyestrain, either because the characters and images aren't clear or because the screen is obscured by glare or reflections

Although the article also contradicts itself: "tablets and smartphones almost guarantee such awkward use because they can be accessed almost anywhere and in any position -- most of which involve poor posture."

But doesn't that also mean people can hold the devices in more natural positions, making them far safer than PCs or laptops? Also the same argument could be made that books are dangerous because they can be accessed almost anywhere and in any position.

And that's pretty much the entire article. Nothing to see here, move along.

Re:Why is this crap even on Slashdot?

[Anonymous Coward]

I've already experienced mild RSI in the thumb after somewhat excessive touch screen use. Same as with mouse and keyboard use. I don't see why this would be something to write off. Rather, it is obvious that it would become a problem at some point.

Re:My wrist hurts!

[medv4380]

You would have had the same injury doing that with a book. This article is clearly written by the radical fringe who won't be happy unless man is back in the forests eating strait from the trees.

Diseases caused by unnatural postures and forces

Re:Why is this crap even on Slashdot?

[0123456]

Touchscreens are awesome, and they are the future of a lot of human-computer interaction.

No, touchscreens suck ass. They're only good when you're doing very basic operations which don't require much control.

The only device I use on a regular basis which might not totally suck ass with a touchscreen is my e-book reader, and even there I'd much rather press a button to go to the next page than have to make some stupid gesture.

Re:Why is this crap even on Slashdot?

[jdgeorge]

Musicians learn to avoid building up muscle tension, both in the muscles they use, and sympathetic tension in the muscles they aren't using. They learn to keep good posture, keep their wrists relatively straight, to breathe properly and so forth, and these skills get passed down to new musicians.

Musicians also learn to take breaks, not to play too long at a time, or (as frequently happens) they end up with injuries that are destructive to their musical careers. They cannot play all day without hurting themselves, regardless of how awesome their form, posture, and breathing is.

Biggest danger of touch screens

[Glonoinha]

Honestly the biggest danger of touch screens isn't the RSI - it's crashing your car.
Don't ask how I know this.

Will someone think of the children!? :P

[ed1park]

I've seen parents give their little kids iphones to keep them busy/distracted, and they will stare at that the phone for hours watching videos just 5-6 inches from their faces. This has got to be bad for their eyesight especially when they are 3 or 4 years old still developing...