TEXTING TOLLS ON HEALTH

It’s 5 o’ clock in the evening. My mobile beeps. It has received a text from an old acquaintance of mine. I reply back and the conversation goes on for a few hours. Now that’s quite some time! So you must be wondering what important issue we were talking about. Nothing. Frankly speaking, there was no important matter that was being discussed. It was just a casual chat. It’s always good to stay connected with your loved and dear ones. And what’s better than texting!

In fact, texting is an extremely common form of communication. Texting certainly has transformed the way people communicate, especially young people. Youth of today view it as a key part of social life. But even if texting makes our communication process easier, it does have some side effects which we should be aware of. To start with the most dangerous and common effect, that is, texting while driving. People, mainly teenagers, have admitted to using cell phones while driving. This had lead to many severe accidents. It shows that they have become so addicted to texting that they find it necessary to stay in constant communication through texting, even when they are behind the wheel of an automobile. This has serious consequences which may lead to death and it often does result in that.

Another very common problem is that of sleep deprivation. Texting before bed can reduce the amount of sleep a person gets, especially when the text is regarding serious matter. They feel anxious if they do not know what is going in their social circle. When a person texts too late into the night, it leads to poor quality sleep.

Even when too much stress is laid on one part of the body, it could lead to a stress injury. This injury further results in swelling or tissue damage, depending on its severity. To prevent these injuries, experts suggest that people should take short breaks. This further prevents overuse of the finger and thumb muscles.

It is also seen developmental problems arise because of excessive texting in teenagers. They get less time to spend with their parents and they often stay on their own. Texting also reduces their ability to think. They damage the creativity of the young mind.

The new research also suggests a link between forward leaning postures that people use while texting, sending mails, or playing video games and pulmonary disease and cardiovascular problems. The research suggests that when someone drops their heads and rounds their shoulders while looking at a phone or a tablet, it is harder for them to take a full breath because of the restrictions to their muscles. In addition, the ribs cannot move properly so the heart and lungs cannot function to their full effectiveness. Due to texting people and over overuse of phones and tablets people are knocking off years of their life expectancy.

It is high time people need to understand the ill-effects of texting. Though, it is agreeable that texting is an easy way of communication and very handy but people should limit their use.