Things are different
now from when I was a kid. Back then there were no computer games
and no home computers. There was no such thing as a smartphone and
if you wanted to have fun or talk on the phone, it usually involved
some type of physical activity. Our world was limited to the real
world and television was only interesting on Saturday mornings when
you could watch the latest cartoons. It appears Americans are
becoming more inactive and part of the blame is on computers. I
would like to point out that I've never had a computer tackle me,
throw me in a chair and force me to use it. I'm sure it's possible a
line of just such computers could coming soon, but they are not here
now. I will go with Americans increasingly not taking responsibility
for being sedentary and are putting part or all of the blame on
computers.
Over almost a decade,
average daily sitting time increased by roughly an hour, to about
eight hours for U.S. teens and almost 6 1/2 hours for adults,
according to the researchers. That includes school and work hours,
but leisure-time computer use among all ages increased too.
I'm amazed at these
statistics. Not because I don't believe they're accurate, but
because it's possible to have your computer needs met with a phone at
whatever space you occupy. I'm sure it will eventually evolve into
robbers and people communication over their phone and never meeting
in person.
The text exchange would
be interesting.
This is a robbery. I'm
too busy to meet you in person, but I will tell you where to leave
your money. Do what I say and you won't get hurt. Here is my
simulated gun pointed at you. I'm not afraid to use it.
I'm too tired to get
out my money. I have an app for screaming and running from robbers
and I'm going to use it.
I'm warning you to not
be a hero. You don't want the virtual police involved with what is
happening between us. I have a robber app that I'll use to chase you
down in the cyber world and then take your money from you. I may
even give you a few hits in your virtual head to make my point.
You can't get away with
this. I'll report you to the virtual police and they will find you
and arrest you.
Until they get here,
you better give me your money or I will beat the virtual life out of
you.
Okay, you win. I'll
leave my money here, but I'm too lazy to go home.
That's okay, I'm too
lazy to pick it up, so I'll have a friend get it.
Okay.
“Everything we found is
concerning,” said lead author Yin Cao, a researcher at Washington
University’s medical school in St. Louis. “The overall message is
prolonged sitting is highly prevalent,” despite prominent health
warnings about the dangers of being too sedentary.
I can just see telling
people who sit around on their computer all day they should get up
and take a walk. They may respond by saying they've taken a long
virtual walk, so they have had their exercise. When you try to
explain they need to physically get up and walk outside, I bet some
may begin to experience computer withdrawal symptoms. In order to
mitigate the symptoms, smartphones help them travel beyond their
computers. The only problem is they probably so busy looking at
their smartphone they walk into buildings, lamp posts and other
people. This is why they consider walks in the real world to be very
dangerous and prefer virtual walks instead.
Studies have shown that
prolonged periods of sitting can increase risks for obesity,
diabetes, heart disease, and some cancers. U.S. activity guidelines
released last fall say adults need at least 150 minutes to 300
minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity each week, things like brisk
walking, jogging, biking or tennis. Muscle strengthening two days
weekly is also advised. Immediate benefits include reduced blood
pressure and anxiety and better sleep.
How about we take a
person's computer and smartphone. We place them at a distance and
tell them if they don't get there first, someone will take their
computer or smartphone. I believe this could result in a person
doing 300 minutes of vigorous activity. Then they are told if they
don't get to their computer or smartphone in time, the hard drives
will be removed and they must then catch the person who has them.
I'm sure we would see some Americans start biking, walking or jogging
like a velociraptor was behind them. This may lead to a new reality
show called Find Your Tech or one called Locate Your Tech Before It's
Too Late. I'm sure this could at least start out as a fun channel on
YouTube. It may defeat the purpose as many of these people could
spend a lot of time sitting and watching videos of these programs.
The researchers analyzed
U.S. government health surveys from almost 52,000 Americans, starting
at age 5, from 2001-2016. Total sitting time was assessed for teens
and adults starting in 2007. The results were published Tuesday in
the Journal of the American Medical Association.
I suppose this is based
on surveys concerning sitting time. Did they call people and ask if
they were sitting? Did they ask them how much time they spent
sitting? It would take a lot of resources to maintain contact with
52,000 people for 15 years.
“This is the sitting
survey. How much did you sit today?”
“I'm tired of these
surveys. What did I say last time?”
“You said you sit
quite a bit. Have you changed much?
“Yeah, I'm 15 years
older and don't have time to take sitting surveys. So whatever.”
“Has your sitting
increased or decreased?”
“Should that include
my time spent in the bathroom?”
“I don't know.”
“Well, call me back
next year when you do know. Bye.”
Could this type of
inactivity lead to a new type of rehab industry? Could we see new
organizations created such as Tech Addicts Anonymous (TAA)? Would
there be Tech Watchers (TW) or others? They may encourage regular
visits to the real world where they can learn about real things in
the world. I'm sure the more time they spend in the real world, the
easier it will become for them to exercise in it.
Here is a link to the
story.
https://wtop.com/tech/2019/04/americans-getting-more-inactive-computers-partly-to-blame/
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