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Using computers is bad for your health!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3204719.stm

Since we're all... AT COMPUTERS RIGHT NOW, this seemed an appropriate thing for us all to know!

Quote:

'Keep cool' over computer hassles

Stress can damage health and impact others
Computer users need to stem the stress their machines cause them before it damages health, according to a survey.

Nine out of 10 are regularly annoyed by slow, crashing machines, while time wasted fixing problems makes it worse, say security experts Symantec.

Information overload is the top irritant, and a quarter say computers are just not worth the hassle.

Anger management experts say stress has to be stopped before it affects productivity and those around us.

Irks

Computer viruses, spam and general information pollution annoy men most, with nearly a quarter saying it was a significant stress trigger.

But women say crashing systems and sluggish performance irks them about using computers.

"We shouldn't be put off using our computers as there are lots of ways we can avoid these kinds of problems," Symantec's Kevin Chapman said.

TOP FIVE STRESS TRIGGERS
1: Slow performance and system crashes
2: Spam, scams and too much e-mail
3: Pop-up ads
4: Viruses
5: Lost or deleted files

BBCi's guide to dealing with stress

People should help themselves by taking time out to calm down before stress gets out of control, according to Mike Fisher from the British Association of Anger Management.

"Stress brought on by PC pests can all too easily turn to anger, which is not only unpleasant, but will impact on those around us and inhibit our productivity," he said.

"If you are suffering from stress, the best thing to do is to breathe deeply, and remind yourself to keep your cool," added Mr Fisher.

Taking regular breaks, especially when computers start to misbehave, can also help prevent annoyances putting people in bad moods.

More than a third of men and women will resort to extreme behaviour when confronted with computer frustration, such as violence, swearing, shouting and desperately slamming random buttons.

The knowledge

Encouragingly, 40% will try to find a practical solution to fix niggles, including asking someone else to help.

Spam cluttering inboxes is a major annoyance
Common sense knowledge about what we do with our computers and the potential consequences of our actions can help, according to Mr Chapman.

"For example, don't download lots of large files and applications, and remove the clutter left behind by long periods on the internet."

"To avoid spam, don't sign up to lots of mailing lists, and if you do receive a spam e-mail, never reply to it asking to be removed from the list as this will confirm your e-mail address," he said.

As people work longer hours and become increasingly reliant on computers and technology to communicate and do their work, minor irritants can soon snowball into larger problems.

A recent Health and Safety Executive (HSE) survey of 700 managers said £1.24 billion a year was lost because of stress-related sickness and lost productivity.

How about you? Do you get madder at your computer than at anything else in your life?

I'll say this: the day I reinstalled Mandrake 9.1 five times, I felt very sorry for anyone within my blast radius.

My brother was the king of computer blowups. There were several dents in the walls where he'd taken out his frustrations (I think linux had something to do with that as well) and once he just drop-kicked his hard drive into a million pieces. He said it felt good. Love-hate, I guess.

man... and i want to spend the rest of my life working on computers...

nah baby I'm relaxed and mellow I guess it all depends what you have in your favorites folder!!

Yeah playing on our comps is stressful at times, but a lot of the reason we have computers is to enjoy ourselves. I know a big stress relief for me is to come home and play some counterstrike, write a journal entry, or do other enjoyable things.

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Encouragingly, 40% will try to find a practical solution to fix niggles, including asking someone else to help.

40% is encouraging? I would have hoped most people would try something practical before resorting to swearing etc.

Personally I don't find computers stressful at all, but then I'm a pretty laid back person and there is very little that stresses me anyway. Which is both good and bad.

I don't blame the computers. If the software is well written the chips should have no problem making it work.

Software designers, on the other hand, should die slow, agonizing deaths (preferrably with lots of rectal bleeding). Especially those that design programs that do way more than you want them to with no option for shutting off the unnecessary stuff (PTC). Good thing there aren't any software designers here. :hmm:

Ironic isn't it that much of the spam, pop-ups, slow connections that cause this stress come from the search for..well porn..which is trying to help actually reduce stress.

Personally I don't find computers stressful. At times sure but with any technology there are stressful times. Look at cars and driving in rush hour. Phones and calling home on Christmas or Mother's day. All technology has good and bad times...computers are no exception.

All 5 of them top 5 reasons are so easily dodged, its not even funny.

This article only pertains to people who shouldnt use a computer, and do.

Nothing I do with my computer is "mission critical"; I don't make a living from it and I keep nearly all my files backed up on CD.

For me, every fuckup and glitch is a new learning opportunity - and I have MUCH to learn. Just the other day I learned a whole ton from setting up my new ADSL modem.

I'm just glad the day I jumped from Mac to PC was the day I learned about Ad-Aware and Spybot.

Computers probably don't cause more stress than any other thing in modern life. Of course, if you work with computers and stuff the amount of stress you get from it would be equal to a person's stress from their computer and non-computer related job.

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Originally posted by Destrox
All 5 of them top 5 reasons are so easily dodged, its not even funny.

This article only pertains to people who shouldnt use a computer, and do.

I was gonna say the same thing.

Quote:

Originally posted by sixate
I was gonna say the same thing.

Me two, just buy a nice/fast PC and instaal a spamfilter, virusscanner and pop-upkiller.

ya know, these kind of articles bug me. they bug me almost as much as the hundreds and hundreds and HUNDREDS OF SPAM MESSAGES I GET! EVERYWHERE I GO JUST FEELS FREE TO SIGN ME UP!!! I CAN'T GO TWO CLICKS WITHOUT GETTING PUT ON ANOTHER @&$*#(&!@!!!!!! LIST!!!!ONEONE AAAAAAAAA ANIOVOIA;OIE 89U2383 *@#(FNfi8govea111

ok. i'm better now. i think.

but it still makes me mad.

dood!

i have Spinal Muscular Atrophy
chronic asthma that requires a tracheotomy
two steel rods in my back to keep spine straight
arthritis, bercitis, tendonitis, carpal tunnel, tennis elbow.
now i am diagnosed as narcoleptic!

living is bad for my health!!:):)

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

heh, my computer doesnt stress me a single bit.. what stresses me is my girlfriend constantly on my case cuz she doesnt have the patience to wait for this old ass dinosaur to load up a program and then starts complainin at me cuz its "broke again"

When my son starts acting like a jerk, usually taking away computer privilages for a few days mellows him right out! So yes, if you don't know how to monitor yourself, it can be a major stressor.

For me, it is a stress relief, especially when I do things like visit tfp. If the computer is acting up, I let Lebell or my son handle it -- no stress to me whatsoever!:D

What pisses me off is a slow internet connection thats usually has me punching things like walls.

Something I resigned to long ago---computers don't
make mistakes---only people make mistakes.....

--and without this old 1998 version of a Dell master piece
I wouldn't be able to visit with all of these great TFP'ers
around the world......

if its broke, just fix it and get on with life---there are a lot
worse things in this world to upset me....(like if they stop
letting me bring the cheap scotch back from Mexico..:D)

Completely agree with destrox. Came to visit my family one day and as i walked in the door found my stepfather unplugging (rather ripping) the cables from the PC and asked what he was doing. said that he was gonna throw the piece of crap out the window (which he actually was going to do) because he couldnt figure a program out (i think he was trying to get some digital camera pics onto a disc). i literally had to snatch it out of his hands. so anyway i plugged the 'puter back in and showed him how to do it and all was well. if people would just take the time to inform themselves (the instruction manuals, tips on internet, etc.) on how to work with their computer and not just expect it to come to them through divine intervention this stress crap wouldnt happen. if your stressed out by your computer, its your own damn fault.

it all makes sense now...

destroy the system. start with the computer system.

Computers are stupid, they can't think for themselves. They only do what we tell them to do, so ultimately its our own fault.

I do sometimes get pissed, althoug that's mainly to do with some programming issues and other geek stuff...

Quote:

What pisses me off is a slow internet connection thats usually has me punching things like walls.

although, yeah that pisses me off some though. lol, it's always hardware issues!

Quote:

vermin said

Software designers, on the other hand, should die slow, agonizing deaths (preferrably with lots of rectal bleeding). Especially those that design programs that do way more than you want them to with no option for shutting off the unnecessary stuff (PTC). Good thing there aren't any software designers here.

ahhhh i just saw that. I am study software engineering so yeah i am a designer i guess?
Anyway, keep in mind the software development process is still extremely primitive. Also the intangibility and almost infinite number of states of software makes it so hard to measure and quantify, so its sometimes hard to make it "better".

I know what you mean though, although it'll suck being a fully qualified softwrae engineer with a job etc, because you only get thought of or noticed when the software is bad and fucks up alot.
George lucas said seomthing like "The best speciual effects in movies are the ones you don't notice". same can be said about software, when you don't notice it (ie no problems) then it's good, although you then take it for granted. AGGGGHHHHHH!!!!

ok that's it for me. i am turning geek mode off now ;)

Quote:

Originally posted by vermin

Software designers, on the other hand, should die slow, agonizing deaths (preferrably with lots of rectal bleeding). Especially those that design programs that do way more than you want them to with no option for shutting off the unnecessary stuff (PTC). Good thing there aren't any software designers here. :hmm:

This sounds like you have a problem with the "common" apps most computer users have..... all of which is from micro$oft. Think about it, how much more useful is the newest version of office vs any of the older versions? Most of the functionality that most people use is already there, and then there are the "pretty" interface and useless features that most people don't use, that just make the program larger and slower to run.
Note: I have to support this stuff at work, so forgive me if i ent too far with my rant.

bah if my computer gets on my nerves i simply hit it a few times till it shuts off

...not only is the world out to get me...cpus are as well! My cpu is trying to kill me! It's been trying to kill me with stress and other things since I had it built! It was better after I rebuilt it, but then it decided to try to kill me again! I swear...this cpu has got to be the predicessor of the HAL 9000!...

"...Come here NiceGuy... I've got another error for you NiceGuy... Don't get too mad NiceGuy... I need you around to fix another error after you're done with that one..."