Survey of physical ergonomics issues associated with school childrens' use of laptop computers

The survey investigated the use of laptop computers by children aged 10 to 17 yr at schools in Western Australia. Data collected included general participant information (e.g. age, height); locations and postures adopted for laptop use; time on task and consequences of both using and carrying laptops. 251 participants used the internet to complete the survey and 63 completed written surveys. Twenty participants were interviewed and observed using their laptops in various locations, The mean times for minimum and maximum periods of laptop use at one sitting ranged from 11.5-101.9 min. Mean daily use (3.2 h) and weekly use (16.9 h) was also shown to be high. Postures used by laptop users varied according to location, e.g. home, school and boarding house. Reported consequences of laptop use included technical faults, service and location limitations, hardware and software limitations, user limitations and physical consequences to the user. Sixty percent of students reported discomfort with laptop use and 61% of participants reported discomfort with carrying their laptop. Associations between school attended or year level with time on task and discomfort reports were evident. Relevance to industry The use of laptop computers is increasing, both in educational settings and other industries. There is however minimal research on the physical consequences of laptop use by adults or children, and therefore recommendations for using laptop computers are tentative. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.