TOKYO – Yahoo! JAPAN has unveiled “Yahoo! Smart Stretch 360” as a new 20th year project, the world’s first(*1) attempt at a smartphone video that utilizes YouTube’s 360-degree video feature enabling 360-degree viewing to relieve “text neck” caused by smartphone use.
Yahoo! JAPAN, which offers various smartphone and tablet services and apps including the news, weather, emergency information, videos, and e-commerce, has created as a 20th anniversary project Yahoo! Smart Stretch 360, a video that helps relieve “text neck,” a condition caused by smartphone use.
Designed under the direction of Teikyo University Faculty of Medical Technology Assistant Professor and Japan Stretching Association Director Yoshihito Nagahata, the video relieves text neck simply by having the user view a smartphone 360-degree video while seated at the office or home, without the need to memorize or copy movements.
After instructions on its use are provided, Yahoo! Smart Stretch 360, a smartphone video that relieves “text neck” caused by smartphone use, begins the stretching with an instructor’s energetic voice saying, “Follow me, OK? Let’s go!”
Your shoulders and neck will gradually loosen up as you move your body while holding your smartphone and following the movements up, down, left, and right of the instructor, who is moving in 360-degree space and providing encouragement with enthusiastic instructions of “Up! Up! Yay! Down! Down!” to the rhythm of light music. The video will guide you with encouraging phrases such as “Nice stretch!” and “Good job!”, and a sexy blonde woman will replace the instructor as you are drawn into this energetic environment. Before you know it, the stretching will be finished in just about two minutes overall. This is a fun and impactful video, but it offers serious stretching under expert direction. Supervising director Yoshihito Nagahata will also take the place of the instructor for a brief moment on screen, so please pay attention!
