It is difficult to say that the digital divide and human health are linked, in my opinion. Socioeconomic status affects both the digital divide and human health. That said, sitting around on one's posterior most of the day while eating fast food or microwaveable food most certainly could be seen to demonstrate how decreasing the divide can be linked to poor health. Improper equipment - and sometimes even proper equipment - can lead to repetitive stress injuries such as the infamous metacarpal tunnel syndrome.
There are some that believe that human health can be increased through empowering users. I tend to agree on the bunny slope. But on the steeper, more slippery slopes this type of thinking can itself be dangerous to one's health. Even Twain quipped that reading health magazines could cause one to die of a misprint - on the Internet, that is an even more serious issue since not only can anyone publish - anyone does. While it is all well and good that people may read information on the internet that can be helpful, this does not and should not replace properly educated and trained members of the medical community. Reading about placing a chest tube is quite different than doing it; diagnosing a disease is something that people take years and years to learn how to do - and these people, Medical Doctors, still sometimes make honest mistakes despite their training. Should we expect better from those without training? Technology, properly used, can facilitate health and quality of life. Improperly used, it can do quite the opposite. And I haven't even really touched on the issue of children... a large topic, indeed. Ilan Tsekhman wrote: > As promised here is the suggested conversation topic for August (a few > days early!). > > That a myriad of socio-economic factors influence human health is well > known. But how about the digital divide in particular? Are there > implications on human health resulting from the digital divide? > > Please feel free to share your thoughts and experiences on the subject -- Taran Rampersad Presently in: San Fernando, Trinidad [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.knowprose.com http://www.your2ndplace.com Pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/knowprose/ "Criticize by creating." — Michelangelo "The present is theirs; the future, for which I really worked, is mine." - Nikola Tesla _______________________________________________ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list [email protected] http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
