Must-use devices also carry health risks

Children and teenagers can get more easily addicted to electronic devices during summer and other vacations and damage their eyesight. Although computers and other electronic devices are being more widely used - particularly by young people - little consideration is paid to the accompanying health risks. This situation has to be changed soon to avoid unnecessary injuries to people using them.

Desktop and laptop computers can cause physical problems, particularly when users are forced to bend their bodies to see the monitors better. Neck or back pain caused by the strain can have serious health consequences. A 2007 study found that chronic neck or back pain was the leading cause of not attending work in the United States. The impact of this finding on economies should not be ignored.

The constant use of desktop computers and laptops, and other electronic devices such as iPads, tablets and smartphones could also alter sleep patterns in ways and to an extent that we haven't realized. A study published in the US Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows people using iPads for four hours or more before bedtime took longer to fall asleep than people who hadn't used them. The negative effects were not limited to iPads, however, because tablets, e-readers, smartphones, laptops and LED monitors with similar blue-light emissions have the same effect.