Digital Eye Strain

5 Tips To Combat Technology Induced Digital Eye Strain

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Digital eye strain aside, we cannot deny the obvious, technology has made our lives better on too many levels. How technology revolutionised our communication from the era of communicating through the one handset landline often in the dining room where every family member would hear part of your conversation to a personal smartphone remains the greatest advantage of technology.

To a factory or production line worker who was working in a dangerous environment, you cannot convince them that a robotic machine taking their job is a bad thing. I don’t think anyone will have much success in trying to convince an old woman deep in an African village who occasionally sees her American based grandchildren on a video call that a network booster stationed next to her home might cause health problems.

I would like to speculate and say it is difficult to explain to your generation Z child how a music jukebox operated without looking like someone trying to explain the benefits of eating pork to a person who abstains from eating it for religious reasons. The truth of the matter is, technology has made our lives so easy and enjoyable it is difficult to imagine life before the internet.

However, technology has its drawbacks too, chief among them, it has brought eye strains because of more screen exposure otherwise known as digital eye strains that were minimal in the past decade or two. We have also been bombarded with too much information because of technology one has to be cautious when consuming information on the internet. That and many other drawbacks we cant list today are just a tip of how technology is interfering with the life we are living.

Over the past few years, people have increased their screen time significantly according to the University Of Leeds’s Rafe Clayton and Carmen Clayton’s report on UK Screen Use 2022, 50% of adults in the Uk spend a whopping 11 hours a day looking at different screens. Over time, this is known to cause eye strains of many forms which include but are not limited to blurry vision, dry eyes, double vision, eye discomfort, and eye fatigue just to mention a few.

In case you are concerned about your screen time exposure and you either want to stay ahead of a looming eye strain or like the rest of us, you are already suffering from one form of digital eye strain, follow these 5 tips to combat the problem.

  1. Whenever possible ensure there is ambient light wherever you are going through your phone, laptop or watching TV. Avoid using these gadgets in the dark as this strains the eyes.
  2. Activate automatic brightness on your smartphone so that it automatically adjusts to the ambient light around you.
  3. Avoid spending too much time in front of your gadgets. Curate your schedule in such a way that you will only use them when necessary
  4. Make use of colour filters, and anti-glare apps and tools available for your gadgets.
  5. if possible, take an occasional 30 minutes break from your gadget to rest your eyes before you resume using it.

How To Prepare For The Secure English Language Test (SELT) If You Are Planning On Moving To The UK

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Over the last few weeks, we have taken the time to explain many things to those planning to move to the UK. Guided by Google and personal questions we have discovered that many are asking how to prepare and nail their Secure English Language Test (SELT) to prove their proficiency in English, a requirement by the UK government for some people intending to move to the UK.

As alluded to above, you will need to pass the SELTs if you want to move to the UK, if your degree or diploma was not awarded in English or if you cannot prove that the qualification was awarded in English. You will also need to take the test if you are moving to the UK without a degree or diploma, or if your qualification is not related to what you shall be doing in the UK. For example, if you have a degree in Education, but you are moving to the UK as a care worker, you will need to show the UK government that you can read, write and communicate in English.

In case you are wondering how to prepare for your Secure English Language Test, be ye guided by these 5 tips.

  1. Bear in mind you need to build real-life skills because you will need to constantly communicate in English. Do not take the test just to pass but to be proficient in communicating in English as well.
  2. Practice, practice practice. Take advantage of the internet and download and or buy material from approved institutions, colleges and universities offering SELT and use the tests to practice for the exam.
  3. Make British TV your favourite. By doing this you will get to know more about the British accent, how they pronounce some words and how the British naturally and effectively communicate. This way you are learning more about how the people you will spend the most time with speak English.
  4. Test your listening skills, listen to British podcasts etc and check if you are able to clearly hear and follow conversations conducted in British English. This will prepare you to listen follow and easily take instructions in British English.
  5. Keep your skills sharp by reading newspapers, blogs, books, having applications that challenge you on your phone and learning a new word every day till the day you take the test.

7 Steps To Follow When Applying For A Health And Care Worker VISA To The UK

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Over the last few weeks, we have shed light on the Health and Care Worker VISA to the UK and other sponsorship programs to get a permit to work in the UK. This has been influenced by the searches we see on Google of people looking for that particular information and or information related to that. While we have been able to answer a few questions about how one can go about the whole VISA application process, we have not shed light on these 7 steps one can follow when applying for a Health and Care Work VISA.

In case you don’t know where to begin, how to do it and or you are not liquid enough to pay an agent to guide you through the application process here is what you can do:

  1. Find out if your occupation falls under the list of occupations eligible for the VISA
  2. If you are eligible for the VISA start working on your knowledge of English as you will need to prove that you can write, understand, read and or communicate in English. If your qualifications like degree or Diploma was conducted in English you might need a letter from your school explaining that. If not, you will need to take an English proficiency test, the Secure English Language Test can be taken through any of the following providers Pearson PSI Services (UK) Ltd IELTS SELT Consortium LanguageCert
  3. If you have your knowledge of English conformation, apply for a job in the UK. This might include you going on social media groups that have people who hire people, it will also include you searching for recruitment agencies in the UK sending them your CV and any other document they might require.
  4. Once you have managed to secure a job, you should know if your employer is sponsoring your other expenses like accommodation if need be, flight tickets and or the Immigration Health Surcharge. You should obtain a sponsorship certificate from an approved employer to apply for a job in the UK.
  5. Find out the application fee payable for the visa and how you will pay the fees from your local banks, calculate the rates from your local currency to the pound carefully to make sure you will not have a shortfall at a critical time.
  6. Once you have the secure English Language Test (if you need one), your application fee, and a certificate of sponsorship then you can apply online for a Health and Care worker VISA on the UK government website. Please note, you will be asked to provide a valid passport, your job’s occupation code and other details regarding your employer. All those questions will be answered through your sponsorship certificate.
  7. Keep these documents handy because you may be asked to provide them, a police clearance certificate, bank statements proving that you have enough funds to take care of yourself in the UK. In some instances, your sponsor can support you on this, proof of the relationship you have with the people applying with you, and a tuberculosis test.