If you aren’t smart about using your smartphone, walking into a lamppost may not be the only thing you’re risking
HEARING
PROBLEMS
If you regularly listen to music at high volume using your phone’s earbuds, you risk damaging the delicate cells of your inner ears and causing permanent hearing loss.
EYE
STRAIN
Look up…look around! Intensive use of smartphones, with their small screens, can lead to blurred vison and dry eyes. Take a break every 20 minutes to rest your eyes, and hold your phone comfortably at arm’s length.
BACKACHE,
NECKACHE, AND HEADACHE
The tilted head and bent neck common to the smartphone user can lead to “tech neck,” causing pain in the neck, shoulders, and back.
ROAD
ACCIDENTS
Using a phone while driving triples your chances of an accident; texting increases your chances 23 times.
TENDINITIS
Too much texting can put you at risk for developing tendinitis of the thumbs or index fingers. Pain in the wrist, finger, or forearm is a warning sign.
INSOMNIA
The blue light emitted by the smartphone’s screen suppresses the production of melatonin, the sleep hormone.
PHANTOM
VIBES
Feeling your phone vibrate or ring when it isn’t doing either isn’t uncommon— but it might be a warning sign that you’re becoming addicted to your phone.
YOUR BRAIN
AT RISK?
Research hasn’t answered the question definitively, but the World Health Organization (WHO) currently considers cellphone radiation potentially carcinogenic.
SEPARATION
ANXIETY
Can’t go a day without texting, checking Facebook, or playing your favourite game? Could be another sign of addiction!
Illustrations: iStock.
