• Blog
  • Archives
  • Bio
  • Awards
  • Speaking
  • Book
  • Contact

Eyesight on technology

Published: Saturday, 06 April 2013

When I was growing up, I read voraciously - for hours and hours a day.  When I was in year 7, my mum even went to my parent-teacher interview and complained to my teacher that the only thing I did all day was read!  And so my mum was always telling me to stop reading in the car at night, reading lying down and reading in dim lighting, because she said it would ruin my eyesight.

One of my biggest concerns for my and future generations is the impact of technology on our eyes.  Backlit computer screens, television, mobile phones, Google glass, tablets, etc.

They all invite us to stare fixedly on a small area for long periods of time.  We're told to give our eyes a break for a few minutes every 30-40 minutes, but I don't actually know anyone who does that.

Last year, from a combination of working and not sleeping enough, I've felt my own eyesight deteriorate.

Which is why I think it's important for us to think of our other bodily functions and senses.  Dogs are colour-blind, but have acute smell and hearing:  perhaps we could come up with an output that uses those senses?  More auditory output devices perhaps?

Otherwise, I think it's just our own personal responsibilities to cherish our eyesight by seeing that the computer is just a tool to use, rather than a device that can cater to all our whims.

Let's save our eyes by not marrying them to a screen all day, so they can continue to enjoy the beautiful natural world around us.

About Me

Marita ChengForbes named me a world's top 50 woman in tech & 30 Under 30. I founded Robogals and Aipoly and was Young Australian of the Year 2012. Currently working on robotics company Aubot. I'm the youngest Member of the Order of Australia (AM) and I give speeches around the world.

I tweet @maritacheng and I'm on Facebook.

Subscribe

Enter your email address to receive my latest blog posts: 

 

Random Articles

  • Planning things with integrity

    Planning things with integrity means to plan things such that you have done all you can in your base for things to go as smoothly as possible. It...

  • Woman in STEM

    For National Science Week, I spoke at the Super STEM Careers event about my career in STEM.

  • Playing with robots

    Playing with robots in the office with Kyle van Dordrecht.  We timed ourselves putting a robotics kit together...  then we modified the kit.  

  • Ogilvy

    A lot of successful entrepreneurs dropped out of school (Richard Branson) or university (Bill Gates).  But Ogilvy, who went on to become a famous ad...

  • Daily plan

    My most productive days, the days I enjoy the most, and the ones that inspire me the most are the days where I have an extensive pre-written to-do...

  • Don't focus: search for something that sticks

    During my second to fourth years of university, I worked on Nudge, mew and Robogals.  I did various projects with all those initiatives over that...

  • Complaining is silly

    Either act, or forget. Talking about someone else behind their back makes no difference to them, and all the difference to you. Your friends have to...

  • Three months

    In the first three months, Robogals Melbourne was formed (July ~ September 2008). In the next three, I got to know London and Europe (October 2008 ~...

  • Life Purpose Event

    From July 2020 - March 2022, I worked really, really hard on achieving a big goal and having a huge impact on the world. By March 2022, when we’d...

  • Think more

    All men's miseries derive from not being able to sit in a quiet room alone. Blaise Pascal One of my favourite things to do is to sit there and...

Enter your email address to receive my latest blog posts: 

 

Scroll to Top