Digital Life
Are cellphones ruining your eyes?

By Frank Spinillo posted August 19, 2013
This has been a MCF Public Announcement to make you think ? Can you imagine a life without sight ? Please take care of your eyes/your mind/body & spirit 4-Sure! p.s. Your Monte also (lol)

Computers, smartphones, and tablets, TV's, etc all have nice, bright, crisp screens that we look at everyday. One optometrist from Britain is defining our sudden rise in close device usage as 'screen sightedness'. What may seem like harmless reading or fun may actually be ruining your vision.

An optometrist in the United Kingdom by the name of David Allamby told the Daily Mail that since smartphones started becoming popular around 1997, there has been a "35 per cent increase in the number of people with advancing myopia." Myopia is the official term for nearsightedness ('shortsighted' in the UK), and Allamby is beginning to refer to it as 'screen sightedness'. Normally, by the time humans reach the age of 21 the affects of myopia have begun to stabilize, but according to Mr. Allamby, "excessive screen watching at close proximity keeps the genes that control myopia activated."

The Daily Mail states that information from the research study has indicated that when reading books or newspapers, we keep them at a distance of about 40cm away from us. On the other hand, smartphones and tablets are kept just 18cm away from the face. This is the most striking piece of data given that the size of text in a book or newspaper is no different than the size of text on a phone.

Mr. Allamby says that people need to begin limiting their use of devices and "consider the age at which they give their children a smartphone." He expects that "40 to 50 per cent of 30-year-olds could have myopia by 2033," all from our increased reliance on smartphones and tablets.

This doesn't mean you need to throw out your smart devices right away and get your eyes checked out, but it certainly should cause you to be more aware. Next time you go to pull out that tablet or smartphone while relaxing in the recliner, or before you go to bed, consider keeping it further away from your face. Or better yet, maybe just put it down for a few minutes. Yes, you reading this ?
Can you still read it ? Can U ?

 

How to Test your Eyes using the Computer


They say that you should get your eyes checked every two years but if haven’t had the chance to see a doctor all this time, you can test your vision on your computer as well.
Of course these self eye tests are no substitute for visiting your doctor but if you follow the steps well, you may get some idea about how good (or bad) your vision is.

The Snellen Eye Chart

Most of us are familiar with the Snellen Chart that has rows of alphabets of different sizes – you read these letters from a distance, usually twenty feet, and the smallest row that you can recognize accurately indicates whether you have normal vision or not.
The various eye testing tools that are available online make use of the same Snellen chart.
Test your Eyesight Online

You should start with University at Buffalo’s IVAC tool. Use a physical ruler to measure the length of the line on the screen (the length will vary depending on your screen resolution). Also measure the distance of your eyes from the computer screen. Now read the row of letters on the screen and press ‘smaller’ to display more rows in decreasing sizes.
While performing the test, you need to cover one eye and when you have read all the characters from top-to-bottom, read them again but cover the other eye this time. When you can no longer read the letters, stop!
Also see: Relax your Eyes with 20/20/20 Rule


Another Flash based eye testing tool is hosted on thinkquest.org – this can work accurately only with computer monitors that are either 15”, 17” or 19” in size. Stand four feet from the screen and then follow the on-screen instructions. When the characters are no longer readable, hit the stop button and it will display your visual acuity.
Finally, if you are looking for more DIY solution, try this. Open the Snellen Chart image on your computer screen and measure the size of the big letter E using a ruler. Multiply that number by 2.838 and stand that far from the screen while taking the test. Now try reading the different letters, top to bottom, to check your vision.

 

Is your phone the next form of identity theft? We must stay informed > There are bad people out there in our World : (

By Frank Spinillo posted 2013

For some of us, our cellphones have turned into our always-there personal assistant. They help us keep in touch with friends and family, snap pictures, stay on top of the news, and get the latest scores for our favorite sports teams. This dependency has also come to the attention of hackers, and recently one such hacker has come out to say he found a way to gain access to phones through a simple text message. What does this mean? The data of 750 million users is potentially at risk.
If you're not familiar with a SIM card, it's a small chip that sits inside your phone and allows you to connect to your cellular provider's network. Since they contain your phone's identification and information, it's only natural they have gone through iterations of security improvements. However, a recent New York Times article brought to light the fact that a security researcher figured out a way to gain access to your SIM card. This researcher, Karsten Nohl, has stated he can gain access to SIM cards running on an older encryption standard via a simple SMS (text) message. Once access is gained, Mr. Nohl says that "he was able to send a virus to the SIM card through a text message, which let him eavesdrop on a caller, make purchases through mobile payment systems and even impersonate the phone's owner." During his research, Mr. Nohl tested over 1,000 SIM cards and was able to gain access to just under a quarter of the cards he tested, reports Forbes. Mr. Nohl estimates that roughly 750 million SIM cards are vulnerable to this exploit.
According to Forbes, US based cellular providers Verizon and AT&T have stated they were aware of this research and said that their SIM cards were not at risk. Additionally, Mr. Nohl has already provided data on his two years of research to the GSM Association, the organization that represents the mobile industry. The Times says that the GSM Association has issued a statement saying they have looked over the study, and "passed [it] along to operators and to makers of SIM cards that still relied on the older encryption standard."
In spite of this, the chances of your phone getting hacked this way are pretty low. Even though Mr. Nohl is claiming 750 million devices are at risk, a report from 2012 states there are about 6 billion mobile subscriptions in the world. That means roughly 12.5% of the world's phones are at risk from this security exploit. Given that Mr. Nohl has informed the GSM Association, there will likely be a strong push by them to get all manufactures and providers up to current security regulations. If you do have your original SIM card and happen be on a mobile provider who has relied on SIM cards for more than five years (in the US this is primarily AT&T and T-Mobile), you can always ask for a new SIM card which should bring you up to security encryption standards.

 

Reminds me of the old "don't sit too close to the TV, you will ruin your eyes".

 

20/20 rule!

Every 20 minutes of looking at a screen/device/computer look away for 20 seconds and try to look at something about 20 feet away.

I try to practice this frequently. Also just getting up and taking a quick stroll every now and then.

It's also good to not have the brightness settings at max on everything. Just set it for the lighting needed in the room.

 

Ive noticed a change in my vision. Ill probably become near sited in the future. Things at a distance can be fuzzy or hard to read. Especially bad when im tired or my allergies bother my eyes. I believe im well over due for an eye exam

 

Hi `Keane,
I hope this thread inspires you to get a eye check `up 4-Sure...Please put it on your priority list...You have to take good care of yourself & your eyes 4-Sure I've met others that have lost their sight or were born blind. I admire how they adjust to the condition...
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Thanks Mod `Jason for your post & Admin `Mike for you advice on what you do to take a break & rest your eyes...I still do exercises between posts (lol) hand gripes & hand weights + rubber bands (lol)

I hope this thread encourages our membership to get their eyes checked every year or two...I get mine checked once a year...I keep thinking I need glasses, but the Doc just said I need 2 rest my eyes more...
That's `all, peace/Out (Can U read this ?

 

My last eye exam was 12 years ago. I finally went in June because I wanted to get new glasses and some Rx sunglasses.

My eyes actually didn't change that much, I'm still blind without my glasses but I did learn that I have a mild astigmatism