I sat down at my desk after a long day when it hit me. I always have to stare straight down onto my laptop. You may be asking, “Don’t we all Kanayo? What makes you so special?” I realized that posture was a problem that we all face in our daily lives. I was quite literally staring straight down like my neck was a crane and when I tried to readjust my neck, it actually started to hurt. My body started to get used to this uncomfortable position. Thus, applying more pressure to my neck, causing discomfort in the area, and making me discern the real problem… that our generation is doomed to a fate of ill posture.

Think about it! According to pcmag.com, Americans can spend upwards of 4 and a half hours on screen time alone which equates to roughly 1⁄6th of our day. During this time, not once do we think about the positioning of our necks. Habits can form in a little over 21 days and this self-destructive custom has most likely been materializing for years on end. The direct symptoms of this although they vary case to case could be; hyperextension of the neck, headaches, numbness, tension in the area (sharp pain too), and even breathing problems. Despite all of these problems, there is still hope. We can work on our current postures before it’s too late. Or we can improve on the injury we may already face. In school, our desks are pretty low and not very comfortable. Therefore, we can place our laptops on a book and look up or at least at eye level. As I am writing this, I am currently using a box to raise my computer to a suitable height.