In today’s day and age, technology has become so integrated into our lives that it is almost impossible to operate without it. It is safe to say that GenZis unaware of how life before technology this dependency leads us to ask a crucial question,“if it is so inevitably tied up in our lives why is overusing technology a potential threat?”
We’ve all fallen into the trap of mindlessly scrolling through Instagram and losing track of time or binge-watching an entire season on Netflix. Especially in the past couple of years due to the the pandemic, even though we are all staying physically distanced, we’ve been virtually connected. However, this also means that many of us may be exposed to excessive screen time and overusing technology. This is detrimental to our health on many levels.
Starting with the psychological effects, over usage of smartphones and social media can lead to social isolation and anxiety. Children and teenagers are increasingly losing the ability to communicate face to face and are depending only on online platforms. Being deprived of social skills at such a young age increases the risk of severe depression, stress and anxiety. To further prove this, a study in 2017 involving young adults in the age group 19 – 32, revealed that those who use social media excessively are three times more likely to feel socially isolated than those who don’t.
We all get constant notifications and alerts from our smartphones reminding us to check emails, complete tasks etc. Even though we might want these technologies to keep us in check, our bodies don’t completely agree. Scientists have found out that these interruptions stimulate the fight or flight hormones and keep our brains in a constant state of stress, which leads to fatigue, inefficiency etc. Simply put, overusing technology makes our brains lazier and gets us addicted to it.
Further, physical after-effects are also inevitable and are the most conspicuous. Carpal tunnel syndrome, “text neck”, insomnia, eye strain, health issues due to reduced physical activity are some of the most prominent physical strains that over-usage of technology may have.
An interesting point to note is that overusing technology has an amplified effect on children compared to adults. This is because their brains are still in the developing stage and would be more responsive to the adverse impacts resulting in social incompatibility, low academic performance, risk of ADHD, delayed emotional development etc.
Apart from this with the new advances in technology come new problems as well. In today’s world where everyone’s personal data, bank, credit card information are all stored on the internet it has become easy for hackers to carry out ransomware attacks, attacks on the cloud, information theft and much more. Even though businesses are spending a lot on cybersecurity, cyber-criminals can quickly adapt to new technologies, increasing the ease of cyber-crimes, making cybersecurity crimes a prominent threat today.
We need to take a moment to ponder whether all of these new technological advancements are actually necessary. We have technologies like Alexa, driverless vehicles, humanoid robots and much more to take over tedious human tasks. Do these make our lives easier, or just makes us spend money on unnecessary luxuries and pushes us into a vicious cycle of technological dependency?
It would certainly be foolish to say that we don’t need technology at all as it is unarguable that technology has made our lives better to some extent. It has opened up a world of possibilities including communicating with anyone in the world through just a few touches in our smartphone, , it has made education become significantly more accessible to everyone, major breakthroughs in the medical field and much more.
The real question to ask ourselves is “how much technology do I need?” and “how much technology is too much?” According to the saying “more is less”, the more that we use technology, the fewer benefits we derive from it, as the costs end up outweighing the benefits. Therefore our real responsibility lies in figuring out how much technology we really need and limiting ourselves to it.
Some strategies that can be used to limit the usage of technology and screen time:
· Create and follow a schedule – this can include techniques such as not using your phone 1 hour before going to sleep and 1 hour after waking up.
· Set limits and abide by them – there are many apps (ironically) that help us to set time limits for apps and screen time
· Digital detoxes – Setting a period of time to go technology free and engage in self-care activities.
· Staying active –This can improve not only physical but also mental health. Doing a small workout routine each day or practising mindfulness through yoga or meditation can go a long way.
It is evident that technology isn’t going anywhere or slowing down, thus it is important to know how to effectively manage the use of technology as it definitely cannot be completely avoided.
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