RSSConfirmed: Computer use breeds klutzes
By Angela Gunn | Published June 10, 2009, 8:58 AM
A study released Tuesday in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine appears to indicate that mere proximity to computers makes people incredibly clumsy. The report claims that over the past 13 years, in-home computer-related injuries involving bumping into, tripping over, or standing under falling computers are up sevenfold -- sending over 78,000 people, presumably not all of whom are Wile E. Coyote or one of the Three Stooges, to the emergency room.
Monitors are the main culprits, pouncing on innocent humans more often than any other piece of gear. When the survey began in 1994, 11.6% of acute injuries could be lain at the round plastic pedestal of the monitor; by 2003 -- around the era of the largest, heaviest CRT monitors -- that percentage was up to 37.1%. By the end of 2006, the percentage was back down to 25.1%. Injuries to the extremities were most common (57.4%).
Sadly, the two constituencies most often at odds with the silicon are the very old and the very young. Children under 5 had the highest injury rate of all groups, and shared with patients over 60 the tendency to trip or fall over gear. Worse, kids have a habit of stopping the computers with their heads; 75.8% of children under 5 and 61.8% of those aged 5-9 bonked their noggins badly enough to win a trip to the emergency room. Across all age groups, lacerations were the most common injury (38.5%), followed by contusions or abrasions (23%), sprains and strains (18.2%), fractures (6.9%), and "other" (13.5%).
Overall, the rise in injuries (732% over 13 years) rose far faster than actual household computer ownership over the same period (302%). Males were slightly (53.5%) more likely to run into trouble than females, which may or may not have something to do with most (58%) injuries happening when gear was being moved from one spot to another. Fortunately for all, 99.3% of patients were treated and released -- though that doesn't hold true for patients over 60, 4% of whom required hospitalization or further care.
The conclusions in the AJPM study were derived from data collected in the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System database. The full study is currently available online in PDF format.
well DUHhhhhhh, and don't forget the HUGE percentage that are Too Stoooooopid to operate
a computer yet they buy one
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|Little kids run into things, I get that part, but what happened to the breeding? I was looking for something that involved reproductive behavior.
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|Monitors are the main culprits, pouncing on innocent humans more often than any other piece of gear.
I can't tell you how many ways I have used to keep my monitor from pouncing on innocent passersby... my latest method is threefold [1] a HUGE tow chain wrapped around the entire monitor (makes viewing the screen hard but the tradeoff is worth it) [2] super gluing the base of the monitor to the desk which is in turn bolted tio the floor (I had to bolt the desk to the floor cause that rascally monitor used to pounce on ppl taking the desk with it - and [3] instlling a 2' thick metal enclosure around the monitor.... now this made it even harder to actually see the monitor but - once again, individual safety sometimes takes precedense over the pleasure of viewing what the monitor has to show.
Worse, kids have a habit of stopping the computers with their heads
Ya, we had to get a special full head helmet for our kid, injuries to the head are down but even with the 100 lb helmet, neck unjuries are up
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|I like PC_Tool's response, but I would like to add something else: did the studies took other factors into consideration? Like tha fact that due to the growth of the Internet, maybe people spend more time in front of the computer, therefore increasing the risk of some sort of accident?
Also, have this studies considered the change that computers have had in people's lifestyle? Maybe the people having these accidents are sleep deprived at the time of the incident due to heavy dosage of facebooking, tweetering or Team Fortressing? After all, people who are sleepy tend to be clumsier regardless if they are in front of a computer or a microwave oven.
Just a thought...
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|With the children I wouldn't so much blame the computers as I would the parents who obviously were not watching their children when they got attacked by the CRT Monster...
Speaking of Wile E. Coyote... On cable's "TruTV" this Saturday, they have a special on where people are going to recreate in real life, many of Wile E. Coyote's stunts from the cartoon. Let's see if those rocket powered roller skates really would have worked!
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|"Speaking of Wile E. Coyote... On cable's "TruTV" this Saturday, they have a special on where people are going to recreate in real life, many of Wile E. Coyote's stunts from the cartoon. Let's see if those rocket powered roller skates really would have worked!"
Excellent! Time to clear out some workspace in the garage! ;)
"With the children I wouldn't so much blame the computers as I would the parents..."
Pretty much my point. The "Save the Children" folk would much rather misplace the responsibility by making it the government/retailer/network/corporations responsibility vs. the responsibility of the parents. So it is of no surprise that they are now releasing "studies" that back their agenda.
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|Wasn't there a previous study that gaming increases co-ordination (hand-eye)?
Oh, yeah...several of them. Just a quick search on Google revealed:
http://education.mit.edu/papers/seriousgames.htm
http://news.nationalgeog..._030528_videogames.html
Of course, with the current "Save the Children" push to label computers as Bad™, it's not surprising we'd see them start to publicize "new" ...."studies" ... "proving" their point. (Wow...is there a limit on bunny quotes? There probably should be.)
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