posted
I feel like an idiot asking this, and I couldn't find it already discussed... will you *really* damage your eyes if you watch TV/use a computer in the dark? I know it's easier on the eyes if the screen is dimmer (like in a movie theatre) but can your eyes really get damaged?
And while I'm at it -is it really hazardous to sit too close? What about too close to the microwave? Will my face really stick that way??
-Pretty...damn childhood traumas, knuckle crackthing thread was a load off my mind...in PuNk
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LaMarie
The Red and the Green Stamps
posted
quote:Originally posted by PrettyInPunk: I feel like an idiot asking this, and I couldn't find it already discussed... will you *really* damage your eyes if you watch TV/use a computer in the dark? I know it's easier on the eyes if the screen is dimmer (like in a movie theatre) but can your eyes really get damaged?
No, your eyes will get just a little bit tired, because when you watch TV. (I guess that you all know that when it's darker your pupil "grows" bigger, when is bright your pupil is smaller) As you know, in every single scene the light changes, so your pupil has to be big and small, big and small, smaller, bigger, and so on. I'm not sure, but I think it's a sort of a muscle(?), so it goes tired. Just that. And you may feel your eyes a little itchy, but it's not that bad. You can't lose your sight by watching TV in the dark...
quote: And while I'm at it -is it really hazardous to sit too close? What about too close to the microwave? Will my face really stick that way??
-Pretty...damn childhood traumas, knuckle crackthing thread was a load off my mind...in PuNk [/QB]
I think the same thing happens here. When you're close to the screen your eyes get tired for the same reason, but it's not that hazardous for them. And no, your face won't stick like that My mom used to say that if I crossed my eyes they'll stick like that (I was too inocent, yeah). Thanks to Discovery Kids I discover that wasn't true at all. So I can cross my eyes anytime I want... hahahahaha.
My mom used tell me about the TV thing, so I never watched TV to close, nor in the dark. But then one day, I watched Discovery Kids, (yeah, I was a Discovery Kid, hey I was 10, and full of "discovery doubts") and they explain this was a total UL, so now I don't worry that much. And no, I don't watch Discovery Kids anymore.
La"sweety, don't look TV in the dark!, OK mom!"Marie
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posted
I know that the reason we're told not to sit too close to the TV is that there is an electromagnetic field around it, which may or may not be damaging, depending on who you believe. Same thing with computers - and even cell phones. I think that there is fairly solid evidence that there is a cancer link.
As far as watching TV in the dark, we do it all of the time, and find that it actually reduces eye strain. So - I don't know about that one.
I don't think that we have to worry about the adjustment of our pupils from dark to light rooms - that is, after all, what they are designed for!
So it's allright to turn off the light. What bothers me more is the bloodshot eyes I get from using a computer - my family is starting to think I'm on drugs
-------------------- All along the untrodden paths of the future, I can see the footprints of an unseen hand. Posts: 6912 | From: Flanders | Registered: Jan 2004
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Syncopate One
The Red and the Green Stamps
posted
I remember seeing a public service announcement as a kid about this (locally produced as well- television was a different animal in the late 70's). The announcement reminded kids to be sure to turn on a lamp when they watched TV.
I've read that the whole story was created by a lamp salesman to- wait for it... SELL LAMPS.
While I don't know if that's true or not, this site might give some perspective to the origins of the Lamp Salesman theory:
quote:Originally posted by lynnejanet: I know that the reason we're told not to sit too close to the TV is that there is an electromagnetic field around it, which may or may not be damaging, depending on who you believe. Same thing with computers - and even cell phones. I think that there is fairly solid evidence that there is a cancer link.
Yeah, some people say cell phones are not safe for that reason, but last week I heard in the news that scientists have done tests them and they found that those electromagnetic fields aren't too dangerous to adults, but they may be dangerous for little kids. True or not... I don't know.
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Frenchy
The Red and the Green Stamps
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quote: Yeah, some people say cell phones are not safe for that reason [...] and those electromagnetic fields aren't too dangerous to adults, but they may be dangerous for little kids. True or not... I don't know.
Yes, it's true, and also, if you buy 2 cell phones instead of one, you're even more immune to those fields (yeah right!)
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posted
Back in the "old days" when technology like TV and microwave was new, I don't think it was a good idea to stand anywhere near stuff. Microwaves were incredibly strong, and I can believe that bad things would happen if you stood too close. Same with TV, but again, this is back in the '50s when this stuff was introduced. Of course, mothers back then didn't really know what was inside microwaves and TVs, so maybe it was just a "fear of the unknown" wive's tale.
Posts: 384 | From: Iowa | Registered: Feb 2004
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posted
I remember being told mot to sit to close to the tv or I would hurt my eyes too. The funny thing is I'm leagally blind so I figured I'd sit as close as I wanted.
Ever notice how we always fall in love? We never climb gently in to love, or step lightly in to love. If love is such a good thing than why is it described as a fall. Posts: 918 | From: La Salle Illinois USA | Registered: Sep 2003
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quote:Originally posted by ica171: Back in the "old days" when technology like TV and microwave was new, I don't think it was a good idea to stand anywhere near stuff.
I don't think it's a good idea to stand near any new technology. Who knows when a new property of the technology will be discovered (and you know how such things are discovered).
Back in the early days of microwaves, the ovens had a double action door on them. You pulled down a handle to unlock the door (turning off the microwave) and then pull it open, unlike the pull to open microwaves of to-day.
On the OP, you can get a headache in addition to getting tired watching television in the dark.
-------------------- All posts foretold by Nostradamus.
Turing test failures: 6 Posts: 5481 | From: Decatur, GA | Registered: Nov 2002
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quote:Originally posted by zman977: I remember being told mot to sit to close to the tv or I would hurt my eyes too. The funny thing is I'm leagally blind so I figured I'd sit as close as I wanted.
I'm legally blind, too, so I tend to sit pretty damned close as well. I can also see the TV a lot more clearly if the room is dark.
Posts: 239 | From: Minnesota | Registered: Jul 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Jason the Jinxed: [QUOTE]Originally posted by ica171: QUOTE]I don't think it's a good idea to stand near any new technology. Who knows when a new property of the technology will be discovered (and you know how such things are discovered).
Yup, one day a little kid gets cancer and the parents are quick to blame it on the microwave instead of all the fatty, unhealthy foods that are being prepared for the child inside of the microwave.
-------------------- "For me, religion is like a rhinoceros: I don't have one, and I'd really prefer not to be trampled by yours. But it is impressive, and even beautiful, and, to be honest, the world would be slightly worse off if there weren't any." -Silas Sparkhammer Posts: 3239 | From: Ontario, Canada | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
I find that using a computer in the dark gives me eye-strain. They just start to hurt and my blinking rate goes up (or becomes more noticable). Same goes with TV and movie theatres but it's not as noticable, maybe because I don't sit so close. Hence I always turn a light on when using the computer.
Then again maybe I was just told that using an electronic screen for too long is bad for me so I am believing these things to be happening when they really aren't.
-------------------- Vox populi vox canem Posts: 1985 | From: Reading, England | Registered: Dec 2002
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quote:First the good news: according to most eye specialists, claims that you'll ruin your eyes by sitting too close to the TV, reading in bed, using inadequate light, etc., are old wives' tales. The bad news is that the old wives may have been right.
The article was written in 1992, but I found the part about "civilization" being responsible for eye problems interesting. I am convinced I made myself near-sighted due to the way I leaned so close to the paper when I wrote in elementary school. (I only have a problem with the eye that was nearest the paper.)
As for crossing eyes, I too was told by mom not to do it or they'd stay that way. Then in elementary school, there was a boy with crossed eyes. I wondered if he didn't listen to his mother...
-------------------- I love dairy! Does that mean I can't be a vegan? Posts: 1569 | From: Upstate NY | Registered: Dec 2003
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