Written by Peter Murphy on Monday, December 24, 2007

Lingering Maladies!


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So what is the most used feature of your mobile phone? Obviously voice calls, well, maybe that’s not the case these days. The advent of SMS (short message services) or Text Messaging, has reduced greatly the need to talk directly to other people, and I’ve even read stories of people ending relationships via text message. So, anything this good, can be subject to abuse, addictive, and has led to a new medical condition being defined, “Texters Thumb”. That’s right, the third diagnosed case of texters thumb has been reported in the Brisbane Times.

A New Zealand student, who sends up to 100 text messages a day on her mobile phone, has been diagnosed with the country’s first known case of text-messager’s thumb.

Think I’m kidding, check out the link, it’s tenosynovitis, an inflammation of the tendons in the thumb that causes great pain.

There have been only two other reported cases of the ailment – a school-aged child in Singapore and a 13 year-old girl in Australia.

It’s a little like tennis elbow, or the repetitive strain injuries people were getting from typing to much! The fact that it’s happening in young people is also a concern, why would you have to text that much? How much pain are you prepared to take, to stay connected? What’s next “iPhone Finger”?

Via Gizmodo

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spmwinkel
Dec 24, 2007

“The fact that it’s happening in young people is also a concern, why would you have to text that much?”
I think it’s not that we need to text a lot, but for some people the ability to do so, creates the habit. Do we NEED to listen to music all day and enjoy it on a high volume?
No, but we CAN, so we WANT to do that. Do music players NEED to have a battery life of xx hours? Of course not, but we want them to.

Of course text messages are easier than voice calls, because the recipient can simply reply when it suits him, opposed to voice calls which most often get answered also if it isn’t really suitable in the situation.
On top of that, in a text message you can simply ask the question you want to ask. It’s cheaper than calling, because in a phonecall you usually end up talking about random and irrelevant stuff. :P
I do of course agree that it’s going too far if you start to have medical issues…


PatrickJ
Dec 24, 2007

spm – I agree with the ‘easier’ stuff in your 2nd para – when I lived in the UK, I texted a lot more heavily than now in the US – and it was because it was seen as easier, and it cut through a lot of small talk and voice minutes usage.


spmwinkel
Dec 24, 2007

What’s different in the US, then? Does it cost a lot more, or is it simply that the general attitude is still more aimed at phone calls?


pedah
Dec 24, 2007

Remember all of the reported occurrences where in the southern hemisphere!

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