We’re sofa-king screwed.
Our sedentary lifestyles aren’t just slothful; they may wreak havoc on each our health and appears. Experts on the step-tracking app WeWard have digitally imagined what we’ll seem like in 2050 if we don’t change our couch potato ways — and we’ll reportedly have poor posture, premature aging, and other sitting-induced symptoms.
Dubbed Sam, this sofa goblin was devised as “a medically grounded projection of how inactivity can affect our physical appearance and overall health.” WeWard created him by sourcing data from the World Health Organization, CDC and other sources, after which feeding it right into a prompt on ChatGPT.
Indeed, the prognosis just isn’t pretty. WeWard warns which are within the midst of a worldwide inactivity epidemic, with the World Health Organization noting that 80% of adolescents don’t meet the requisite levels of physical activity.
“In today’s culture of convenience, easy tasks like ordering food, taking work meetings, and connecting with friends can now occur directly out of your couch,” WeWard writes. “Add that to the hours spent doom-scrolling on social media, and we’re spending abnormal amounts of time sitting behind a screen.”
To make matters worse, sedentary lifestyles can heighten the chance of stroke, heart disease, diabetes and cancer and even dementia.
But when the stats don’t scare you, Sam’s grotesque figure definitely will. “When you’re in search of something frightening this Halloween, look no further than what might be our future if we proceed to position convenience over day by day movement,” WeWard warns.
Take a load off Sammy
Sam’s sedentary lifestyle has caused him to realize weight because the unused energy from sitting — and maybe doomscrolling — converts into fat and amasses around his midsection. Over time, it will increase his likelihood of affected by heart disease and diabetes.
Scroll-iosis
Sam’s poor posture isn’t any coincidence. Prolonged periods of sitting or hunching over screens end in a forward-titled head and curved upper back — a symptom colloquially referred to as “tech neck.”
The complication isn’t just cosmetic, often leading to chronic shoulder and neck pain.
“Some researchers have suggested that frequent smartphone use can result in the usage of a non-neutral neck posture or the event of musculoskeletal disorders,” experts wrote within the journal Interdisciplinary Neurosurgery. “This flexed neck posture can increase the pain of the cervical spine and induce muscle strain in adjoining portions of the cervical spine.”
Digital age and never being easy on the eyes
Consistently scrolling social media for the most recent aging inhibitors may paradoxically speed up the method, as Sam’s haggard appearance suggests
Multiple studies have shown that blue-light exposure from screens may cause signs of “premature aging and hyperpigmentation to the skin,” WeWard writes.
Meanwhile, excessive screen time mitigates blinking and “forces the eyes to focus at one distance for too long”, leading to “dryness, blurred vision, headaches, and difficulty focusing.”
To mitigate this ocular side effect, distant staff should employ the 20-20-20 rule. For each 20 minutes spent looking at a screen, work-from-homers should look away at something that’s 20 feet away from them for 20 seconds, per Healthline.
No mean feet
Prolonged periods of sitting have slowed Sam’s circulation, causing fluids to build up within the ankles and feet, resulting in swelling. Other complications include varicose veins, and in additional serious cases, increased risk of blood clots.
In 2020, a 24-year-old UK man died resulting from a blood clot that he sustained after gaming for hours on end during pandemic lockdown.
That is just the tip of the iceberg in the case of sofa-inducted symptoms. Other complications include joint stiffness and arthritis, hair thinning and loss, skin issues and bags across the eyes.
Sam just isn’t scary enough to discourage people from scrolling their life away on the sofa?
WeWard invited other users to upload pictures of themselves to said ChatGPT prompt to see what “your spooky future appearance could seem like should you don’t start moving!”
