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I won't opine on how to manage usage of of tech as the comments already handle that well. One thing I'd like to respectfully point out to our community, which

I won't opine on how to manage usage of of tech as the comments already handle that well. One thing I'd like to respectfully point out to our community, which I personally think is going to snowball into a full blown health crisis, is children's posture while using tech. I live in NYC and everywhere I go I'm seeing kids and adults craning their necks and backs at 45-60 degree angles. My mother was a seamstress for 30+ years and the consequences are horrible. Keep an eye on it As for my strategies to manage this, I nag frequently (and my kids know the consequences are losing access). For the few times I do give them screen time on the go, I force them to watch with the phone on the table and either leaning on sometime or in this little phone holder that forces them to sit upright to see the screen. Here is a random link that quantifies the impact on weight on neck at different angles: https://healthmatters.nyp.org/how-to-prevent-tech-neck/ https://healthmatters.nyp.org/how-to-prevent-tech-neck/

mpsprd 3y ago
Heh, I am reading this with a nasty neck pain. I spent a lot of time managing ergonomics on my work station (ergodox custom keyboard, single screen, raising desk, etc), but here I am looking down on my phone.
theshrike79 3y ago
And it's fascinating how the tech-neck only affects the younger population. My kitchen psychology theory is that it's related to privacy. "Our" generation[0] used (and still uses) more text-based media, which is harder to get a read on with a quick glance over one's shoulder. But with Snapchat and others where images are a huge part of the content, the users put the devices right at their chest as high as possible and crane down so that people around them can't see their screen as easily. And after doing that for long enough, it's just a habit, they do everything like that because that's the way they are used to doing it. Maybe a privacy screen could ease the issue? The kind we have on laptops that narrow the side viewing angle so that it's completely opaque even slightly from the side. [0] GenX/Elder Millennial is my theory about the majority age for HN

mpsprd 3y ago

Heh, I am reading this with a nasty neck pain. I spent a lot of time managing ergonomics on my work station (ergodox custom keyboard, single screen, raising desk, etc), but here I am looking down on my phone.

theshrike79 3y ago

And it's fascinating how the tech-neck only affects the younger population. My kitchen psychology theory is that it's related to privacy. "Our" generation[0] used (and still uses) more text-based media, which is harder to get a read on with a quick glance over one's shoulder. But with Snapchat and others where images are a huge part of the content, the users put the devices right at their chest as high as possible and crane down so that people around them can't see their screen as easily. And after doing that for long enough, it's just a habit, they do everything like that because that's the way they are used to doing it. Maybe a privacy screen could ease the issue? The kind we have on laptops that narrow the side viewing angle so that it's completely opaque even slightly from the side. [0] GenX/Elder Millennial is my theory about the majority age for HN