(Important)! Too Many Hours at the Computer?

[NiGGaZ]

Question: My son spends four to six hours a day working at his computer at home. If we include school time, the total comes to nearly eight or nine hours a day. My husband and I are starting to worry that this could somehow be harmful to him. Are there dangers to this much computer use?

 

Answer: Potential problems have been noted for the many children who do spend hours at school and at home in front of a computer. There are complaints of eye discomfort following the use of computers for long periods, which causes eye strain, but tends to get better with rest. Levels of radiation exposure from the display monitor are well below those required to produce eye damage, even after prolonged exposure.

 

It is also possible that repeated overuse of a muscle group could cause muscle strain and pain. This happens mostly because children learn unhealthy computer habits. They tend to use adult-size workstations and furniture, and then develop awkward positions to compensate. Kids may dangle their legs from the chair, sit with their backs hunched over, lift their chins toward the monitor (usually above eye-level), and reach up to click the mouse. These habits, if not corrected, can lead to troubling symptoms and possible disability. We can help by encouraging good posture with feet planted comfortably on the floor (or put something on the floor under the feet), keeping the mouse at elbow height, and lowering the monitor to eye level. A height-adjustable keyboard may be a relatively inexpensive answer. You might even include instructions on your screensaver to remind your child of good work habits.

 

In addition, computer use seems to play a role in the trend of increasing obesity in children. Use of television, video games, and computer games leads to less physical activity. Snacking also tends to occur more frequently in children who remain in front of computer or TV screens. Besides encouraging more regular physical activity, limiting "screen-time" to a certain number of after-school hours per day or only for homework is a good place to start.

I read some articles and i composed this READ IT CAREFULLY CAUSE ITS IMPORTANT

[Frank]

Hm...I spend more than 10 hours on a PC Screen every day...I think it is not a problem...;) Relax!

[GrisoM]

well 3-4 hours if he work whit computer is alright but 8 hours a day ............................. he will end up whit his back destroy and his eyes blow up in afew years u will have to buy him a weelchair xD

 

take him to live whit u again =S

[zEx_Drax]

I spent 4-5 my pc nothing more 2-3 my home and 1-2 in net every day.

[BoOM]

he will be fine

but still less than 8 hours is always better

[NiGGaZ]

guys u didnt understand i dont have a son this is from an article i wrote all that to concern u not anyone else.....just think about it....

[GrisoM]

guys u didnt understand i dont have a son this is from an article i wrote all that to concern u not anyone else.....just think about it....

 

aaaa , belive me i think about it, long time ago i read this (in spanish of course xD)

 

Internet  ADDICTION – DISORDER  Mental Health Professionals are becoming increasingly concerned about Internet Addiction

You know, you are addicted to the internet when your dreams are in HTML.  You turn off the computer and this awful, empty feeling like you pulled the plug on a loved one.  Your dog has its own web page – you name your children Google, Friendster  and Bolger – your wife drapes a wig over the monitor to remind you of what she looks like – you check you mail.  It says, “No new messages.”  So you check it again.  You sign off and the screen says you were logged on for 3 days & 45 minutes – you can immediately think of 10 people you want to send this list to.

You have probably seen such jokes in your email inbox.  They have been doing the rounds in cyberspace since – well, since ‘Cyberspace’ has existed.  But some mental health professionals are beginning to take internet addiction seriously.  They consider it an addiction comparable to pathological gambling are alcoholism, and worry that it is increasingly on the rise.

 

 

            For example, a recent study from Stanford University estimates that one in eight adults in the U.S are addicted to the Internet.  China opened its first Internet Addiction Clinic in Beizing last year to help Wean addicts off the Internet.  And mental health professionals in Chennai are among those growing concerned at this trend. “I am seeing far too many people having some sort of internet addiction for comfort these days”,  says doctor Vijay Nagaswamy, Psychiatrist & marriage therapist.

 

 

            Internet addiction can refer to a range of behaviors.  You have the online gaming or gambling addict, the pornography addict, or the ‘information junkie’ who surfs the internet for random information, often trivia.  There are those who are addicted to chatting online or those who engage in compulsive cyber sex.  But in all these behaviors, Dr Naga Swamy is careful to draw a distinction between the casual or recreational user, and the addict.

 

 

            “Addicts are not defined only by the number of hours they spend online, but by the impact it has on their personal and professional life,” he says.  These effects could include work or school performance being hurt by late nights spent online, or social networks and marriages suffering due to the addict eschewing  all sorts of social activities in favor of spending time on the internet.  Real – world responsibilities get postponed are neglected as addicts become so involved in their online activities that they dream about them at night, and fantasies about  them during the day.

 

 

            ‘When you are aware that you spend too much time online but can’t stop, you have crossed the line into addiction,’ says Dr Latha Nithyanand, a clinical psychologist.  “ You have lost control, and the net is dictating how long you are staying online.”  The profile of those who get addicted is varied.  There is the house-wife who doesn’t cook as she spends the day down-loading recipes online.  Or the middle aged man who searches online for porn to galvanize his sex-life only to get addicted to the actual act of surfing for porn.  Or the boy who is so obsessed with online gaming that he refuses to go to school and threatens suicide when his parents say they will cut him off from the internet.  Or the IT employee who gets hooked to surfing for trivia online simply because of the extent of access he has to the internet.

 

 

            Underlying causes often dictate who gets addicted and who doesn’t.          “Frequently, these people fit the profile of addictive personality,“ says Dr.Nagaswamy.  “Or there could be issues such as clinical depression, disturbances in social life, or even child hood trauma”.  Although concern over internet addiction has been around since as early as 1995, the question of whether it is distinct disorder or simply an expression of such underlying causes is one that continues to plague researchers.  In fact, Internet Addiction Disorder is not yet included in the official listing of mental disorders, DSM – IV.  This controversy is confounded by the multifaceted nature of the internet.

 

 

            “Unlike gambling or alcoholism which are almost entirely negative behaviors, using the internet has several positive aspects to it such as enabling communication and enhancing knowledge,”  says Dr.Nithyanand.  “That’s one of the reasons why people are not certain whether to label it as a disorder.”  However, evidence for the existence of the internet addiction has been mounting in the west from various studies, and mental health professionals in India are feeling the need for such insight into internet use here.  “Often what we find in the Western literature doesn’t relate to India because of cultural differences,” says Dr.S Parvathi, Former Head, Department of Psychology, Chennai University.

 

 

            “We need empirical evidence to identify what the psycho-social and physical impacts of excessive internet use or as more and more Indians go online.”  With 37 million online users in India as of Sep’2006 according to Internet & Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and IMRB – International, and around 38% of them identified as ‘Heavy Users’, there is no doubt that India is now experiencing an internet boom, and this makes it all the more important that we become more aware of potential hazards of too much time spent online.

 

 

            Meanwhile, the next time you find it hard to tear yourself away from the internet and head outside, do yourself a favor and unplug the modem just think of all the money you could save in therapists’ fees down the line!

 

 

The only part of what u wrote that i didnt understand why is this

In addition, computer use seems to play a role in the trend of increasing obesity in children.

 

 

[TheVortex]

3 hours per week are much 8)

[ChaosMaster]

Hm, I am sitting in front of a screen for more than 13 hours a day! It is not as bad as you think

[TheVortex]

It's bad. Trust me. You 'll realise in two years, when you face the problems. Now you are fine, but in the near future you wont.

[ChaosMaster]

Can you give me some examples?

[Stefoulis15]

Can you give me some examples?

 

Well , If Im Not Mistaken ( And Im Almost Sure Im Not )

 

Even The Plasma Monitors Have Radiation...

Being In Front Of The Radiation For Many Hours Is REALLY Harmful..

You May Damage Your Eyes

You May Have Heart Problems...

 

That's What I Know + Believe About This..

 

The Prob Is That I Sit Too Many Hours At The PC..

 

About 8-9h For Sure.. :S

[TheVortex]

Headaches, problems with your muscles, addiction and many more. You wont believe what i told you, i am sure, but when the times comes, you will remember me. I will give you an example. Think why im surfing only 4 hours max per week.

[ChaosMaster]

Anni I believe you...I can understand what problems I suppose to have but you know, I like it now...I want to live now...I have not something more interesting to do...Computer and Internet is my life...

 

I am going to the beach, for coffee and then sit in the front of a screen...That is my routine...

[TheRuleZzZ]

computer  is like the cigarettes and  like drug addict because it influences you and  makes you  have addiction with him,  but  enough persons  cannot stay  without them  and, we cannot do something  to help them from the addiction