If there are data which support the claims that too much TV or computer screen exposure opens us up to serious health problems, content aside, the acceptance and reduction of their effects could take not only decades, but erode lyfestyles and modern educational customs. Who would baby-sit?
What impact might such albeit reluctant acceptance have on the economy? Could it be likened to the age old fear that, should just 5% of diamond bearing married women liquidate their symbols of matrimony, the market would collapse? Vision-saving screens might reduce some aspect of retinal demise, but certainly won't address the ill effects of flashing cutaways, nor replace the reduced levels of melatonin we need to defend against disease. (For other possible effects, please check the web site provided at the end of the excerpt.) As a consumer of both TV and computer/internet services, I find this issue especially challenging. Yet now, I'll think twice about falling asleep with the TV on. I recognize symptoms mentioned in this article which I am certain are directly related to high-screen exposure. Computer/internet services are most important in my life; invaluable globally to information sharing. Has anyone explored this dependence/addiction as possibly being greatly mitigated in future? Economically, socially, recreationally, strategically, medically, or otherwise? Natalia *********************************************************************** STUDY FINDS LONG TV WATCHING ASSOCIATED WITH MANY ILLS FERGUS SHEPPARD, SCOTSMAN - A new report claims that Britain's love affair with television is causing far more damage - both physically and psychologically - than previously thought. The findings have been compiled by Dr Aric Sigman, a psychologist who has previously written about the effects of television on the viewer. His report, analyzing 35 different scientific studies carried out into television and its effect on the viewer, has identified 15 negative effects he claims can be blamed on watching television. Among the most disturbing findings are the links he claims to have found between long hours of television viewing and cancer, autism and Alzheimer's. . . His report, published in the respected Biologist magazine, claims the problem with television lies in the length of time we spend in front of the set. For most people, watching television now takes up more time than any other single activity except work and sleep. . . Dr Sigman claims the battery of ill effects takes its toll on both body and mind. He claims the effect on the brain is not stimulating, but almost narcotic, numbing the areas of the brain stimulated by, for example, reading. The influence of modern editing techniques - for example the rapid "jump cuts" - also plays its part. Attention spans fracture while at the same time, according to Dr Sigman, the brain is programmed to reward itself with the neurotransmitter dopamine for being able to cope with an onslaught of novelty on screen. The litany of bodily ills Dr Sigman links to television makes for equally bleak reading. He associates it not only with obesity, but Alzheimer's, diabetes and even the breakdown of cells capable of healing wounds. Dr Sigman claims a significant body of research now points to television as a key factor in reducing levels of the hormone melatonin, the substance that regulates the body's internal clock and also governs the speed at which puberty develops. http://news.scotsman.com/scitech.cfm?id=265852007 _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [email protected] http://fes.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework
