• 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

  • Scrap paper

    I write all my blog posts on scrap paper. I printed so many speeches last year that I have all these A4 scrap sheets of paper that just have...

  • Networking effectively

    I meet people all the time. In the past it was at entrepreneurship networking events when I was starting up Nudge.  Then, it was at engineering...

  • YouthActionNet Global Fellowship Summary of the Week

    YAN was an amazing experience.  I believe the more you put into something, the more you get out.  And so I put in as much of me as I could, and I had an...

  • Highlight reel and backstage

    When I became the Young Australian of the Year, I was so excited.  I had a glamorous ideal that my life would change completely!  It changed a lot – I...

  • Be a fool

    When you learn something for the first time, everything is new to you. So you explore, you try different things, you fall down, you fail, you fail, and...

  • Show up

    Woody Allen once said that "eighty percent of success is showing up." To me, that means, you go to the meeting about the project.  You're there...

  • Losing focus

    From an organisational point of view, it's better to focus on doing a small number of things right, than a large number of things wrong. In...

  • ANZ Television Commercial

    Appeared in an epic television commercial with my robot arm!

  • Delegating to not go crazy

    If you're delegating tasks and then pulling your hair out over it, then you're probably not doing it right. Anything that's insanely great requires a team...

  • Choose Maths

    Choose Maths is an exciting 5 year, national project designed to empower and encourage Australian students (in particular girls) to pursue...

Enter your email address to receive my latest blog posts: 

 

Scroll to Top