Can Google Glass be bad for your health?
According to CNN, a man being treated for alcoholism at the Navy’s Substance Abuse and Recovery Program in San Diego was found to also have an addiction to Google Glass.
Google Glass, a wearable computer that is worn like a pair of fashionable eyewear has captured the nation's attention since 2012. Touted as hands-free and eyes-free, this device that projects online information on a tiny screen above the wearer's right eye, is on many people's wish list, computer geeks and fashionistas alike. There are signs already, however, that this device may pose dangers to your health.
According to CNN, a man being treated for alcoholism at the Navy's Substance Abuse and Recovery Program in San Diego was found to also have an addiction to Google Glass.
The study found that the man in his early thirties "exhibited significant frustration and irritability related to not being able to use his Google Glass which he had been using for almost 18 hours a day in the months prior to his admission in September 2013." He always wore it at work and at home, only taking it off when it was time for bed or to bathe. He confided to the study authors that wearing the Google Glass made him feel more confident.
According to the report, the man also has been diagnosed with depressive disorder, anxiety disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
One of the withdrawal symptoms of Google Glass addiction was that the patient often tapped his head where the device usually was even when he wasn't wearing it. Besides activating by voice, the device can be used through a small touchpad. During treatment, the patient's irritability had lessened and he was not constantly touching his temple any more, but after 35 days in the center, he was still experiencing dreams like he was looking through the Google Glass. He told the study authors that withdrawal from internet addiction caused worse symptoms than those of alcohol withdrawal.
Study authors believe that this is the first documented instance of an Internet addiction disorder (IAD) caused by Google Glass. Interestingly enough, Internet addiction disorder is still not recognized as a real disorder in the most current Diagnostic and Statistic Manual of Mental Disorders.
The study's abstract noted that "individuals with IAD manifest severe emotional, social and mental dysfunction in multiple areas of daily activities due to their problematic use of technology and the internet."
Other dangers associated with the use of Google Glass include headaches, peripheral vision problems and decreased awareness of your surroundings.
Opthalmologist Sina Fateh told Forbes that having one image in front of one eye and not in the other can cause vision problems.
Ironically, this device was designed to be safer to use than a cell phone especially when walking and driving because you never have to take your eyes away from what you are looking at when using it. Picture how people are always walking head down, eyes on their phone as they hurry through the city streets. However researchers have noted that perception requires both your eyes and your mind so if you are concentrating on what is going on in the image in front of your right eye, then you might not see what is directly in front of you.
As more and more people buy Google Glass once it is released to the public, attracted by its novelty, status symbol (right now its price tag can only be afforded by the wealthy few) and attractive add-ons (prescription lenses, color and design choices), we will need to pay attention to how this new technology will affect our health.
[CNN]