
Smartphones, Posture, and Mood - adriand
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/13/opinion/sunday/your-iphone-is-ruining-your-posture-and-your-mood.html
======
Animats
There used to be a big thing for ergonomic setup of displays and keyboards.
Chairs with arms, screen at eye height. At one time, having the keyboard
rigidly attached to the monitor was considered unacceptable and a cause of
carpal tunnel syndrome. This seems to have been totally lost in the laptop
era.

Maybe the output-mostly orientation of modern computing has relieved some of
that problem.

~~~
crishoj
Being a remote worker without a fixed office, I have given up on the ergonomic
chair. A laptop stand and a detached keyboard seems like a viable option,
though.

To other "nomads" out there: Any suggestions? What works for you?

~~~
Detrus
Put a case for glasses under the back of the laptop.

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dkuebric
I wonder if the same would hold true for voracious (book) readers? Not as
popular these days, maybe there's an equivalent of the "everybody reading
their paper on the train" picture for this too.

~~~
mirimir
Books, magazines and newspapers are different, in that there's no need to
actively use the hands.

~~~
johnchristopher
Manipulating newspapers definitely requires an active use of hands and some
skills in order to keep sanity.

~~~
mirimir
Yes, but the hands are grasping and folding. And the arms are extended. It's
hard to swipe and type in that posture.

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mirimir
Hunching over a tiny display has never appealed to me. For many years, I
expected that HUDs would become common for smartphones. But it never happened.
Glass was backasswards. I'm obviously not in the target demographic.

~~~
tajen
I expected infinite-focal glasses to come up. When the ophtalmologist says we
should look in the far every 15 minutes, it's because we contract our muscles
too much and _might_ cause myopia. It could be solved with lenses, but it
seems I'm alone in this demographic too ;)

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ljk
this is one of the reasons I'll probably never get on the tablet trend. It's
really uncomfortable to use a tablet for even 20 minutes for me, even with a
keyboard attached the screen is still too low and too small to do anything
useful

~~~
skybrian
It doesn't seem much different from reading a book as far as posture is
concerned.

~~~
ljk
I might be weird but I usually change my posture between book on table and
holding book up with elbow on the table

~~~
TeMPOraL
Equally doable with a tablet, and in both cases it looks more-less the same,
including putting an object behind the tablet/book to have the latter lie
angled.

~~~
ljk
hm you might have a point there, it's probably doable with lighter tablets
like kindles

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exDM69
Somewhat related personal observation about muscle activity affecting the mood
I'm in: keeping your face relaxed when it rains makes the negative feeling go
away.

When it rains, you typically grin your face similarly to crying or being
angry, causing negative emotions. When you relax your facial muscles, being
out in the rain becomes less annoying.

~~~
adriand
This is an interesting observation and I'm looking forward to trying it. It
probably fits in with another common (I would guess) experience, which is when
you are so wet in the rain, that you cease trying to remain dry. That is often
a freeing feeling and you can become truly joyful in the rain.

Sadly, this is yet another experience ruined by smartphones - you can't relax
and enjoy being wet in the rain because you're so worried about your phone
getting ruined!

~~~
collyw
Take up whitewate kayaking. Rain = high water = more excitement and the sport
at its best (in Scotland at least where the rivers are fairly small).

------
plg
[http://steamtraen.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/a-cute-story-to-
be-...](http://steamtraen.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/a-cute-story-to-be-told-and-
self-help.html)

------
ChrisArchitect
[http://weneverlookup.tumblr.com/](http://weneverlookup.tumblr.com/)

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leoc
This is part of why VR/AR is going to be central to the future of mobile
devices.

~~~
mirimir
One would hope ;)

------
diminish
So we're becoming a generations of iHumpbacks?

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altonzheng
But where else will I look to not be awkward?!

~~~
trentmb
Your feet are a solid standby.

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Scarbutt
does the same applies for using only laptops?

~~~
mirimir
They're a different sort of ergonomic insanity.

Although I do like touchpads. It's been over a decade since I used a mouse on
my machines.

