Student’s Name Class Tutor’s Name Institutional Affiliation Date
Today’s world, there is a large population of youths who are antisocial. With technology addiction, we have cases of even kids who do not know how to talk fluently with other people. Technology has developed, and new devices with superior and robust specs are being launched into the market daily. The availability of such durable accessories such as laptops, phones, iPods, and desktops have a profound positive impact on society and individuals. Examples of positive results brought by technology are improved communication, technology has improved the banking systems, advanced learning techniques, etc. however, and the positive impacts are short-lived. Technology is like a drug, and the daily usage of smartphones causes long term adverse effects. Albert Einstein once said, “I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots.” Using technology has now become a priority to everyone since everyone wants to have a smartphone, television, laptop, desktop, etc. The level of addiction to technology, more so the young generation, is an issue of concern to the education sector, parents, and society (Brown, 2017). It has now become difficult for parents to control their children as they are way too busy with their electronic gadgets. Teachers are complaining students are not attentive in classes because they are active in a virtual world. Although technology has impacted us positively, and some people say there is no problem with being addicted to social media or electronic gadgets as one gets to be notified on every update and improves their experience. Still, the excess usage of computers, smartphones causes many problems that need to be addressed in society. Problems The major problem caused by technology addiction is on health, psychology, and social issues. Too much dependence on technology has a significant impact on the user’s health. Technology addiction affects the user’s mental and physical health. Psychological health problems caused by technology addictions are narcissism, the expectation of instant gratification, cognitive losses, depression, and distraction (Das et al., 2017).. The rapid growth of technology affects our minds. In the millennial years, we will not only benefit from technology advancement but also suffer the long term problems that will come along with the addiction to technology. The improvement in technology will improve the level of communication between borders and society, positively improve business and learning programs. Still, in the long run, the human being will be subjected to desperation for entertainment and distractions. One of the common health problems that people addicted to technology might be diagnosed with is known as iDisorder. According to Rosen, “iDisorder is where human beings exhibit signs and symptoms of a psychiatric disorder such as OCD, narcissism, addiction or even ADHD, which are manifested through the overuse of technology.” The urge to check your messages, the desperate need to update Whatsapp and Facebook status, and an addiction to computer games are all manifested in iDisorder. Technology affects how our mental function. Addiction to technology has caused many students worldwide to be distracted, with their attention span lasting to a maximum of 10 minutes. Students become lazy, and minds preoccupied with whether anyone is trying to get in touch with them or commented on their status. Technology addiction has, however, made users abandon videos that take more than 5 seconds to load read only 20% of the information in an article. Instant gratification in the virtual world causes users to make poor decisions, which will bring more frustrations in the real world. Besides psychological issues, technology addiction also causes health problems. Spending a lot of time in front of a laptop or desktop leads to panoply, which is a vision problem caused by the overuse of technology. Another vision problem caused by addiction to technology is computer vision syndrome; this is associated with eyestrain, blurred vision, and dry eyes. Spending a lot of time hearing music from your iPod negatively affects our years, causing hearing loss and tinnitus. It should be noted that the ear has sensitive parts and cells that never grow once they have been damaged. It is established about 20 percent of people aged 15 and 70 years suffer from hearing problems and have reduced the high frequency to hear high frequency because of the loud music they are exposed too. Other issues to addiction to technology are the strain on the neck muscles that causes head pain. Most gadgets create a poor posture, which forces users to bend to look at them; this puts the neck in unhealthy positing. Sitting too much is also a health problem, which increases the chances of being obese, having heartaches, and high blood pressure. Solution Considering the adverse effects caused by addiction to technology on psychology and human health, some ways can be used to solve these problems and their impact on people. One significant way of doing this is having a limitation on the usage of technology. Limitation starts from back home, and parents need to limit their children to the usage of electronic gadgets at homes since the youth are the largest victims affected by technology addiction. One important reason as to why, as a parent, you should limit technology exposure to your kid is because it discourages the depression and urge of entertainment while they are doing homework. Parents can avoid this by either setting up media free zones at homes such as the bedrooms. Also, they can set a good example in a bid to solving this problem by turning off the TV and putting their phones on “do not disturb” during media-free times with the family and, most importantly, talking to the children about the effects of technology to their health and mind. A good example is seen in tech titans, who limit their kids’ technology exposure. The titans restrict the exposure of screen times to their kids before bedtime, banned cell phones until the kids were teens, and setting up the use of technology rules to help in limiting the use and exposure to screen time to kids (Berger, 2018) However, we can solve the tech addiction problem individually by taking breaks. Ensuring the workplace conditions are optimal by placing our computers in a well-lit place and minimal glare. Also, trying a mini massage around our eyes will help combat fatigue and strains; this reduces problems associated with eyes. Hearing problems can be solved by lowering music volumes. If the music is too loud that other people can hear, then it’s too loud to damage your ear. Neck pains can be solved through the use of lower back support in your work chair to guide yourself into a healthier posture and do some exercise while working or studying. Conclusion Technology has impacted many fields positively, more so the business field and communication. However, technology addiction is an issue of concern that has caused psychological problems such as depression and health problems to our necks, eyes, and ears; there are various ways that they can be solved. The best solution is a limitation on exposure to screen. Restriction on technology exposure increases the level of attention in class and other activities. Through constraints imposed on the usage of technology, health problems such as eye problems, neck strains, and hearing problems are solved effectively. In that case, being addicted to technology is a problem that everyone should be addressed. Having a variety in your activities, keeping up with the responsibilities, and getting fresh air and exercise are very important.
References 403 Forbidden. (n.d.). Retrieved from www.google.com/amp/s/www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/rewired-the-psychology-technology/201203/face-the-facts-we-are-all-headed-idisorder%3famp Berger, S. (2018, June 5). Tech-free dinners and no smartphones past 10 pm ? how Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and Mark Cuban limited their kids’ screen time. Retrieved from www.google.com/amp/s/www.cnbc.com/amp/2018/06/05/how-bill-gates-mark-cuban-and-others-limit-their-kids-tech-use.html
Brown, S. (2017). Addiction to Technology and Speed. In Distracted Doctoring (pp. 29-44). Springer, Cham. Das, A., Sharma, M. K., Thamilselvan, P., & Marimuthu, P. (2017). Technology addiction among treatment seekers for psychological problems: Implication for screening in mental health setting. Indian journal of psychological medicine, 39(1), 21. el-Guebaly, N., Carrà, G., & Galanter, M. (Eds.). (2015). Textbook of addiction treatment: international perspectives. Springer Milan. Why to Limit Your Child’s Media Use. (n.d.). Retrieved from www.healthychildren.org/English/family-life/Media/Pages/The-Benefits-of-Limiting-TV.aspx Health and Technology — Digital Responsibility. (n.d.). Retrieved from www.digitalresponsibility.org/health-and-technology
