A lot of people have to work in front of a computer all day. There is no way around this depending on the type of work you do. You might not think this is a big deal at 20, but try it for a dozen or so years and throw in some injuries for good measure.
A standing desk is probably better than sitting but is still not that great. I previously realized that sitting was destroying my back so I would try to buy a more comfortable office chair (big mistake). Then I tried to eliminate sitting and found a treadmill off craigslist and spent about $150 on lumber and built a custom standing desk over a treadmill. I wouldn't recommend it, you can only walk comfortably while typing for so long. Standing for too long in front of a desk sucks just as bad as sitting for too long and you begin to tense up in different ways - so I wasn't using it that much.
If you can believe it at one point I even tried buying a recliner and hooking my computer to an HDTV and using a wireless keyboard and mouse. I have tried everything. Guess what? Sitting for too long still jacks your back up.
In reality you want to alternate between sitting and standing. The height of the desk should be able to go up and down to alternate the position of your arms, which affects your shoulders and neck. The height of the screen should be able to be moveable which also affects your neck and shoulders. For that you need an external monitor and VESA arm. You should be able to stand or sit, and when you sit the chair needs to be able to absorb some of the weight of your torso and encourage good posture (the muscles in your core). The swopper chair is the best I have found.
In my search for the perfect workspace I came across the
GeekDesk. It has motors that can lift 275lbs. on the desktop up and down from 23" to 49" at the touch of a button. The only problem is that it has a cheap veneer top. Fortunately you can order the
frame only. You can find butcher block countertops to mount to the geekdesk frame - although I wouldn't recommend ordering from LubmerLiquidators (mine came in pretty fucked up). I got the idea from
this guy's site. Here is what the finished product looks like:
I have the GeekDesk in my garage right now and I am almost finished planing and sanding the top. I can't wait. Next weekend I'll have it totally finished and the countertop mounted to the frame. I am mounting my display to a monitor arm (just like the pictures). I realize this is probably way too much for the average guy here, but if you have back problems and need to work in front of a computer all day I have tried everything and this is where I have ended up.
Anyway, good luck.