Reaching an Obvious Conclusion

There are times when I'm driving into work where I'll be listening to the news and I'll wonder why research on certain subjects was even done. I mean it's one thing if scientists are conducting a study because they want to discover something new but it's something else completely when you hear conclusions to research that should have been blatantly obvious but I suppose maybe it isn't. I suppose it's just a means of raising awareness and making the obvious even more so, so that people will take positive action. The latest study that I heard about reached the conclusion that kids are texting and playing games on cell phones even more than actually talking on them. But what this means is that there have been increases in the number of "distracted activity" incidents.

For example, the story on the radio interviewed a young girl who had been hit by a car (at low speed apparently) when the girl walked into the street while typing a text to her BFF (best friend forever). Now I don't have a scientific degree nor do I have a PhD in behavioral science but even I could have told you that people will start suffering injuries the more they begin to text or do other activities which keep them from looking up at where they're going. I mean did it really take a scientific study to tell us that driving and texting at the same time (and now walking and texting) would lead to increasing numbers of accidents and incidents?

But now parents have something else to worry and complain about when it comes to cell phones. Not only are they making it dangerous for younger users to drive and walk but it's having other effects as well, and none of them are good. Recent studies over the past few years have found that the number of nearsighted people has been on the rise. Since the 1970's the number of people reporting being nearsighted has gone up by nearly 66%. The reason being there are many more activities in which we are required to focus on a small screen. When I was growing up the doctors believed it was due to the fact that I'm such a voracious reader but now doctors feel it may make some contribution but not much. I couldn't help but chuckle when they brushed off reading as being the reason and pointed to small screens.

If you think about it, it makes perfect sense. If we're texting so much more it means we're staring at the small screen of a cell phone. We're focusing our eyes on a smaller space and if you're doing it while moving, your eyes have to concentrate more so that they can maintain that focus. Just the way many people get headaches reading in moving cars, similar things happen when using cell phones. But what about those who are too young to use or have a cell phone? Well who says that iPods or Game Boy screens are any better. Concentrating on a small area can lead to the same type of result. Not to mention the little TVs that so many parents have in their cars now to distract their kids for the ten minute drive to the dry cleaner. Is it really necessary to do all that?

And then parents get confused when doctors report that their kids have attention disorders. Is it any wonder when we have so many forms of stimulus and so little time to take advantage of it all? I'd like to hear about researchers looking into ways to prevent some of these problems and again by not stating the obvious. By explaining that people who don't text while walking or who don't spend more than half an hour staring at their Game Boy screens won't develop eye problems. That much I could figure out on my own even with my limited scientific knowledge.