Are You Addicted To Technology?
Does it feel like something is missing when you’re not holding your mobile phone or touching your iPad? Do you check your Facebook account almost every minute? Do you feel anxious and worried when you don’t get to check your emails first thing in the morning? If your answers are all YES’s, you could be having a digital addiction!
Many people spend most of their day staring at the screens of their computer, laptop, iPad, or mobile phones. Even at work, some couldn’t manage not to peek on their social media accounts. Since its arrival, the internet technology has been a huge part of our society. Most of us use it for almost everything – work, fun, leisure, learning, and so on. We also utilise the World Wide Web to express our own emotions. We update our status on Facebook, tell our story through personal blogs, show our interest by following Twitter icons and trending topics, etc. With the internet, anything is possible.
The Digital Tribe
All of us want to have a place in the online world. According to Carleton Kendrick, a family therapist, people are becoming sicker and less evolved social beings who are obsessively reaching out for their electronic gadgets because they fear that they may not be considered a valued member of the Digital Tribe.
There is nothing wrong really with being part of the online community. In fact, we can learn a lot from the internet. But according to experts, digital addiction can have many undesirable consequences – from relationship and behavioural issues to personal conflicts and health problems. There are safety risks as well. In one study, researchers found that 40% of people 35 years old and below update their social medial accounts while driving.
Impact of Digital Addiction in our Wellbeing
Psychologists are concerned about the emotional health of people who have become deeply absorbed in technology. Dr. Paul R. Damiano, an organisational therapist, argues that people who are ‘digitally addict’ tend to spend more and more time on things that have less value.
Some people who are always afraid of missing out important information of the online news are vulnerable to stress, irritation, and sometimes – to ‘digital dementia’.
Technology addiction brings harm to our physical health as much as it negatively affects our mental and emotional being. Long hours of internet use have been blamed for the growing number of overweight individuals. As we all know, obesity, which is mainly caused by inactivity and incorrect diet, is a major factor for diabetes, heart failure and cancer. In one study, scientists revealed that surfing from one link to another 24 hours a day activates the region in our brain responsible for short-term memory but affects the region essential in creativity and reflection.
By managing the time spent on technology, practising mindfulness, and giving a higher sense of priority to more valuable things in life, we can reap the benefits of the digital media while avoiding its undesirable consequences.
Dear Readers,
What do you think is the worst effect of technology addiction? And what can be done to beat this growing social malady?
Share your comments below!
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