It may not rank as a killer like heart disease or cancer, but
rush by many to participate in internet marketing could be putting them at risk of developing serious health problems both in short and longer term. The aim of this article is to help you avoid those effects and to prosper - painlessly!In recent years, internet marketing has shot to prominence, both for its obvious successes like Amazon, Last-Minute.com etc and because of its accessibility to ordinary mortals like you and me. However, this accessibility comes at a price. As people who are often holding down a full-time job take on additional workload of creating an "alternative income", something must, inevitably, give and all too easily it can be your health.
In early days, internet seemed to be for big companies with big budgets. Websites would cost thousands, even tens of thousands of dollars to build and hardware and technical knowledge required to host them was also extensive. Very quickly, however, savvy entrepreneurs realised that this route to market was infinitely less expensive than traditional "bricks and mortar" business. People started piling on internet bandwaggon in droves and a whole new market sprung up to provise structures and services they would "need" to build their successful empires.
Internet marketing was born.
Many a fast buck was made in those early days by unscrupulous self-proclaimed "gurus" who promised instant mega-profits for little or no effort, and many fell prey to them. Indeed, such "instant riches" schemes still exist, as they do in more traditional forms of marketing, it is simply just as much easier for scammer to sell his services in internet as it is for everyone else!
The very accessibility of internet business has meant that many who would not have otherwise considered setting up for themselves have done so, and it is these inexperienced business people who have become lifeblood of "internet marketing" system.
Such people are generally not endowed with family-provided trust funds and have to work for a living. This means that they must hold down a job whilst creating their empire and it is this extra commitment and time it entails which can lead to health problems.
Some of these health effects are more obvious than others - poor posture, lack of keyboard (and mouse) skills, inappropriate workstations and badly set-up equipment can all have serious effects on muscles, bones and associated tissues that must support our efforts. Like kids that spend hours on end playing video games, Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) from performing mundane, repetitive tasks such as mouse-clicking in same position for prolonged periods of time can have disastrous effects on joints and muscles.
Whilst many (though, by no means all) employers now understand importance of ergonomic workstation design, this is much less likely to be implemented at home - even by those who know better, and a little time take to reorganise your computer desk can generate huge long-term benefits in terms of mobility and pain-free computing.
Similarly, poorly situated monitors, older VDUs and bad video settings can all contribute to eyestrain and even permanent eye-damage. Considered by many to be most valuable of senses, vision is not to be messed with and first sign of problems should herald a visit to opthalmologist post-haste for a check-up. Just having your monitor at right height, properly located in relation to light sources and correctly set-up can help prevent many of potential problems and a simple pair of glasses can not only correct for imperfect vision, but reduce glare and reflection-associated strain on eye muscles.
