• 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

  • TEDxSydney

    From January - May this year, I worked on the first prototype of the production model of my telepresence robot, Teleroo.Teleroo was launched onstage at the...

  • Shell Eco-Marathon Asia

    I’m very excited to announce that I have been named the 2019 Shell Eco-Marathon Ambassador for Australia. The concept of the Shell Eco-Marathon stems...

  • How successful are you?

    “I go to Imperial College”, “I’m applying to MIT”, “I play bowls for my county”, or “I’m a pro-series gamer” means nothing to the person who doesn’t know...

  • AI Most Influential Woman in Engineering 2000-2020

    This AI named me the 29th most influential woman in engineering from 2000-2020! It looked up frequency of my name being mentioned alongside an...

  • Over-exposure

    Telling people your plans too early doesn't make you less likely to achieve them.  I know when I tell people what I plan to do the response I get...

  • The meaning of no

    No doesn't mean… I hate you. You suck. Your project is stupid. You're not good enough. You're wasting your time on your project. You should be...

  • Nail painting robot

    A robot friend suggested we go and get our nails painted by a robot!  So we went and did that!  The first time I saw a nail painting robot was at CES...

  • Questacon

    Gave a speech for IPAA ACT to 280 people at the CEOs and Young Professionals Network Breakfast.  It was a delight to find my friends at Questacon had a...

  • Focus with a laser on the things that achieve the most results

    Am I working towards a larger life goal?  Am I learning anything?  Does this help keep a roof over my head? I focused on a number of activities while I...

  • The Impostor Syndrome

    I first learnt about the impostor syndrome at the Grace Hopper Celebration for Women in Computing in 2011.  A Stanford student asked a question...

Enter your email address to receive my latest blog posts: 

 

Scroll to Top