Digital skills for adults - Course 1- English

The use of the Internet, computers, mobile phones, smartphones and other electronic devices has increased over the last decades in all parts of the world, being the internet, an integral part of modern society and provides a quick and easy way for communication, socialization, and education. 

The growing amount of time we spend in front of a screen makes the way we manage digital media a key variable for our quality of life. (Gui, Fasoli & Carradine, 2017). Digital participation and skills can improve people’s social and civic lives, but also, can expose us to risks (OECD, 2019), such as cyberbullying and online manipulation. 

The increased and constant use of gadgets has an impact upon our mental and physical health, affecting our wellbeing. This is called “digital well-being”:  the physical and psychological well-being in a digital technology world.
Eye safety, repetitive stress syndrome, and sound ergonomic practices are issues that need to be addressed in a new technological world. 

Beyond the physical issues are those of the psychological issues that are becoming more prevalent such as Internet addiction.

Posture-related injuries from computer use

Back and neck pain, headaches, and shoulder and arm pain are common computer-related injuries. Such muscle and joint problems can be caused or made worse by poor workstation (desk) design, bad posture, and sitting for long periods of time.
Although sitting requires less muscular effort than standing, it still causes physical fatigue (tiredness) and you need to hold parts of your body steady for long periods of time. This reduces the circulation of blood to your muscles, bones, tendons, and ligaments, sometimes leading to stiffness and pain. If a workstation is not set up properly, these steady positions can put even greater stress on your muscles and joints.

Preventing computer-related muscle and joint injuries

Tips to avoid muscle and joint problems include:

• Sit at an adjustable desk specially designed for use with computers.

• Have the computer monitor (screen) either at eye level or slightly lower.

• Have your keyboard at a height that lets your elbows rest comfortably at your sides. Your forearms should be roughly parallel with the floor and level with the keyboard.

• Adjust your chair so that your feet rest flat on the floor or use a footstool.

• Use an ergonomic chair, specially designed to help your spine hold its natural curve while sitting.

• Use an ergonomic keyboard so that your hands and wrists are in a more natural position.

• Take frequent short breaks and go for a walk or do stretching exercises at your desk. Stand often.

Computer-related overuse injuries of the hand or arm

Muscles and tendons can become painful with repetitive movements and awkward postures. This is known as ‘overuse injury’ and typically occurs in the elbow, wrist, or hand of computer users. Symptoms of these overuse injuries include pain, swelling, stiffness of the joints, weakness, and numbness.
Preventing computer-related overuse injuries

Tips to avoid overuse injuries of the hand or arm include:

• Have your mouse at the same height as your correctly positioned keyboard.

• Position the mouse as close as possible to the side of the keyboard.

• Use your whole arm, not just your wrist, when using the mouse.

• Type lightly and gently.

• Mix your tasks to avoid long, uninterrupted stretches of using the computer.

• Remove your hands from the keyboard when not actively typing, to let your arms relax.

 Eyestrain from computer use

Focusing your eyes at the same distance point for long periods of time causes fatigue. The human eye structurally prefers to look at objects more than six meters away, so any work performed close up puts extra demands on your eye muscles.

The illuminated computer screen can also cause eye fatigue. Although there is no evidence that eye fatigue damages your eyesight, computer users may get symptoms such as blurred vision, temporary inability to focus on faraway objects and headaches.
Preventing eye strain from computer use

Tips to avoid eyestrain include:

• Make sure your main source of light (such as a window) is not shining into your face or directly onto the computer screen.

• Tilt the screen slightly to avoid reflections or glare.

• Make sure the screen is not too close to your face.

• Put the screen either at eye level or slightly lower.

• Reduce the contrast and brightness of your screen by adjusting the controls.

• Frequently look away from the screen and focus on faraway objects.

• Have regular eye examinations to check that any blurring, headaches, and other associated problems are not caused by any underlying disorders.

• Try using glasses that filter the blue light projected from the screen.
  

The Hazards of using a cell phone while driving 

Several studies indicate the harmful consequences of driver distraction associated with the use of cell phones while driving, whether hand-held or hands-free. The new availability of visual display information on cell phones, new services offering broadband internet access, and the increasing opportunity to use the car as a mobile office is likely to further increase the road safety challenges of cell phone use while driving.

Risk of accident involvement

Cell phone use while driving increases the likelihood of being involved in an accident leading to either property damage or serious injury by a factor of three to four. Accident involvement risk escalates with increased cell phone use. Those driving and using cell phones, a lot are twice more likely to be involved in an accident than those making minimal use of cell phones.

Tips on Cell Phone Usage and Driving

• Turn off your cell phone when you get in your vehicle and turn it back on when you are done driving. Place the cell phone out of your reach while driving – even in the trunk, until you can avoid the temptation. If you cannot turn your phone off, put it on vibrate or silent mode.

• Do not send or read texts or emails.

• Do not attempt to make calls or check/send emails while stopped at a traffic light as most crashes occur at intersections. We need to stay alert so we can respond to the actions of other drivers.

• Be clear to your callers on your voice mail that you are a cell phone-free driver and not available to make calls while driving. Tell them you will return their call when you can safely do so.

• Start all calls by asking if anyone is driving. If so, request that they hang up and call back in when they are in a safe location.

• If you spend a lot of time on the road, organize your route and schedule so you can make phone calls from the parking lot of one location before driving to the next one.

• Establish regular times when callers can contact you and when you will return calls.

• Let someone else drive (when possible) so that you can freely make or receive calls.

• If you are travelling with a passenger, allow them to operate the phone.

• If you must make an emergency call, leave the road and park in a safe area first.