Constantly watching television, using the Internet or playing computer games is actually the most comfortable way to spend your leisure time. All you have to do is turn on the device, drop into your chair and be entertained. The world is delivered to your home. Unannounced visitors – even from people you like to see – are considered a catastrophe, and after a brief whispered greeting, you force the armchair perspective on your guests as well. In contrast to the radio, where one can occupy oneself elsewhere while listening, television and the computer force one to pay greater attention.
Dangers of television and computers
To be easy on the eyes, television shows and computer games should never be consumed in a completely dark room. Dim room lighting is required. While sound propagates spherically, so it can be picked up “around corners” and from all directions, the image, which propagates in a straight line as a visual beam according to the laws of optical physics, requires the viewer to be in close proximity and to be relatively rigidly attuned to it. The mass media of television and the Internet therefore intervene much more strongly in the course of life and in everyday habits than radio. Surely that is why the question arises so often whether the rays produced in the television set or monitor are harmful as “radiation”. As in the X-ray tube, the electrons in older picture tubes are accelerated and decelerated with high voltage. In-depth scientific studies showed that a three-hour stay at a distance of two meters from the screen, without taking the protective screen into account, resulted in a radiation dose that was far below the natural, cosmic radiation exposure of humans. This indicates that with commercially available modern televisions, such as flat screens, there is no radiation hazard even for teenagers and pregnant women.
Proper television viewing and computer work
Although television and the computer is not dangerous in this regard, there are two important conditions for so-called healthy television and work at the monitor. To protect the eyes, television shows and computer games should never be consumed in a completely dark room. Matt room lighting is required. It is best to place the TV lamp or desk lamp next to or behind the device so that the light does not fall directly on the screen and reflections impair the image. This room lighting prevents overstraining of the eye muscles, as otherwise the eyes are always forced into a middle position of near and far vision. In addition, the viewer’s distance from the apparatus should be five to eight times the height of the screen. Unfortunately, this rule of thumb cannot always be achieved when working at a computer monitor. The device is best positioned at eye level. Always make sure that the viewing angle does not exceed 60°. This distance allows the eye to blend fast movements that often occur in movies. Unfortunately, children are often so interested in what is happening on the screen that they get too close to the TV or computer. From the very beginning, they should be accustomed to sitting at the right distance and looking with their eyes rather than their nose. However, it is better not to “park” children in front of the computer or TV in the first place, but to actively engage them outside and inside themselves. This will improve their children’s school performance, and the child will not run the risk of nervousness and attention deficit disorder.
Damage to health caused by too much television and computer games
So the question remains to be answered, how does regular watching TV and playing computer games affect our organs? Especially if you have a nervous constitution, disorders of the nervous system, such as headaches, fatigue, feelings of anxiety and unwillingness, pallor of the face, nausea or the like, can occur if you do not skip any program or game and indiscriminately watch or play everything that is offered. According to investigations of Dutch physicians the concentration expenditure corresponds here to that of a highly concentrated activity of several hours. The usual consumption of alcoholic beverages before and during television viewing additionally weakens the nervous system‘s ability to cope with television.Through the so-called photostimulation, television can also trigger epileptic convulsions or a similar brain dysfunction. In most cases, these are people who have already had such convulsions before; only in rare cases do television and computer games trigger a first such seizure. The switching and especially the flickering of the image cause intense changes in brightness, which, according to medical observation, reveal fluctuations in the brain waveform in epilepsy sufferers – and to some extent also in healthy people – when brain activity is examined in the electroencephalogram (EEG). The closer the person concerned is to the computer or TV set and the more often he regulates it himself, the more frequently such phenomena can occur. Situations like strongly changing light stimuli trigger them should therefore be avoided in epileptics, although this effect is very rare with modern devices. But the eyes of healthy people are also strained when they have to look for a longer time at an object that is only a short distance away. In order for the focal distance to become smaller, the lens of the eye must bulge more. Normally, strained eyes recover by looking into the distance. However, documentary or feature films with wide landscape shots are no substitute for this, because the distance to the image remains small. Often eye defects, which had not been noticed for such a long time, also cause discomfort, such as pain or inflammation, when watching television or using the computer. People with reading glasses should wear special glasses for the middle position of the eyes. Television is accompanied by ultra-sound waves, which can still be perceived by children’s hearing as high-pitched whistling sounds. These fine sustained tones also cause animals with sensitive hearing, such as cats, to flee from a switched-on television set. It is not recommended to turn on the television set during meals. Continuous distraction while eating is often the cause of indigestion. Unnecessary air swallowing and reduced chewing ability can then initiate gastric mucosal disease as an unpleasant side effect. In addition, digestive inertia is also promoted by constant sitting in front of a computer screen. The continuous one-sided posture inevitably causes lack of blood circulation and flabbiness of the heart muscle. Sitting in an armchair in particular can promote varicose vein formation and peripheral circulatory disorders. It is therefore recommended to do movement exercises before or after watching TV or working at the computer for several hours or to shift the body position, as it is possible for example by using a rocking chair. Keeping the feet elevated prevents congestion of the venous vessels in the lower extremities and allows the body to relax.
Television and computer games make you nervous and sleepless
If exciting events were on the screen, both children and adults occupy themselves with them in bed and in dreams. No wonder they become nervous when sleep then does not have the usual duration and depth. Especially in children, sleep disorders easily take the form of loss of appetite. Therefore, a program that is unsuitable for children should always be turned off. It is also not recommended to let children have free control over the television set. For children up to ten years of age, it is sufficient to watch half an hour of television daily. For older children, an hour to an hour and a half is fine. The evening programs with the unfortunately often violent feature films usually apply only to adults. The adult’s weekly television measure should be sufficient at eight to ten hours. People who have exceeded the age of sixty-five
sixty-fifth year, should, according to medical experience, limit their television viewing to
to three times two hours a week. Similar time limits are also recommended for playing computer games or working on the PC. Today, more than 75 million people sit in front of a screen in Germany during the week. The benefits of television, the Internet and the computer are known throughout the world. But only that which interests, educates, delights and relaxes us is also beneficial to our health. Too much can cause a variety of health disorders, but this is basically not due to television or the computer, but rather to those who use these technologies. That is why the programs on television and the Internet should never be the focus, but only the starting point for conversations.Incidentally, it has been proven that a good book to read in the evening can promote sleep, calm and potentially prevent dementia.
