Thursday, December 2, 2010

Social Media and Your Health

So many things have changed in a digital world around us within the past 10 years. To mention the most popular ones: iPhone, Ipad, Android, super slick computer monitors and digital TV monitors. In a last couple of years the development of 3G by AT&T and 4G by Sprint networks and super fast internet connections for home and business offices. Even cars come with build in GPS and XM radio. All of these advances in technology do not come at the cost of their consumers – human health.

Our gadgets get smaller, faster, cheaper and more multitasking machine every three months. Just imagine for a second you left your house without your cell phone. Immediate panic takes over. That was not the case a decade ago. Smart phones have certainly become an extension of our brain. In this fast pace world multitasking is the only thing that will help you to stay on top of things. We use these devices to send text messages, make phone calls, watch video on Youtube, use twitter to send a link to our followers, Facebook for keeping in touch with friends, millions use it for gaming purposes. It is not such a healthy thing to look at tiny screen for many hours up to the point when battery has no more life. I have seen people playing games in all kinds of positions, wonder how much pain they have in their neck or back. However, there is a great benefit from these devices as well. One can find a lot of information via different blog posts and get in touch with a health care provider via twitter or instant chat. Below are the links to several articles that you might find interesting from a famous Mashable site.

5 Important Tips for Better Eye Health in a Digital World

In attempting to sum up the world in 2010, one word comes to mind: connected. Everywhere we go we carry devices that keep us connected to something important to us. Be it a sleek new tablet letting you share photos with the person helping load your groceries, or a smart phone making sure you don’t miss that late night e-mail from a colleague; we are now constantly connected to the world around us, more than ever before.  READ MORE …

5 Ways Social Media Helps Promote Good Health

This March, a report on chronic disease and the Internet by the Pew Internet and American Life Project and the California HealthCare Foundation showed that people fighting such illnesses are using social media to find information and connect with others who suffer similar ailments.
While the research showed that people who have chronic illness are less likely, on average, to have Internet access, once they’re online they are more likely to blog about chronic disease and participate in online discussions or other forums. According to the report, “Living with chronic disease is also associated, once someone is online, with a greater likelihood to access user-generated health content such as blog posts, hospital reviews, doctor reviews, and podcasts. These resources allow an internet user to dive deeply into a health topic, using the internet as a communications tool, not simply an information vending machine.”  READ MORE …

8 Best Android Apps for Health and Fitness

Spring has sprung, summer’s around the corner — it’s time to get outside and get in shape. We know your iPhone-owning counterparts have plenty of apps for tracking their calories and kilometers to stay in shape, but there are plenty of health-related apps in the Android Market, too.
Here are eight highly rated free and paid Android apps that will help you get and stay in shape. If you’ve got recommendations — particularly for apps that will help folks get outdoors while the weather’s nice — please let us know about them in the comments. READ MORE …

4 Tips for Reducing Social Media Stress

We used to only be digitally connected via computer for part of the day, but today’s hand-held devices enable a “constantly connected” lifestyle. This presents huge benefits, and its share of challenges. An important question to ask yourself is: Are you going to be constantly overwhelmed by “Stress 2.0,” or can you successfully translate this lifestyle into “Wisdom 2.0?”
We are all well aware of the benefits of the social media age, but the challenge is finding a balance, and living a healthy and rich life both online and off. If we are not careful, our increasingly connected life can take a negative toll on our mind and body.
Below are four steps to go from a stressful social media life to a wise one, as well as the apps to help you do it.  READ MORE …

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