Did you know an average person checks his/her phone 200 times a day?
If we are alike, you are likely to sigh and think thank goodness I am not the only one. But just because this is the norm, I don't think it's normal.
Technology has remodeled social physiology. This is associated with the brain's ability to change its behavior based on new experiences. When it comes to shaping our brains environment plays a big role.
The more that tech immerses in our lives, I can’t help but wonder — what is it doing to minds? Listed below are some of the ways technology has an impact on you.
PHYSICAL HEALTH CONSEQUENCES
Ever found yourself sitting for 4 hours straight when you have to edit something or while playing a video game?
A new study found that nearly 4% of people die every year because of their sedentary lifestyle.
Leading a desk-bound and inactive lifestyle can increase chances of Dementia, Depression, and Anxiety. Long-term sedentary behaviors can add to the risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, stroke, cancer, obesity, and premature death.
IMPAIRED EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND SOCIAL ISOLATION
More time on technology means less time with your thoughts and feelings, and of mindfulness. As tech dependency increases, we live in a state of self-alienation, separated from our emotional selves showing less self-awareness resulting in depression and anxiety. Often it also weakens self-regulation and diminishes social skills. Spending long intervals of time on digital media translates to spending less time communicating face to face.
WE CAN'T SLEEP
Today, technology has influenced the way we communicate, learn and think. But what we might not know is that it is also ruining our good night's sleep.
In adults, an increase in smartphone use was associated with shorter sleep duration and less efficient sleep. Studies have shown that the bright light from devices can interfere with sleep by suppressing the production of melatonin, a natural hormone released to help you feel tired and ready for sleep. Poor sleep in a long run can be linked to an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease.
ADVERSE IMPACTS ON BRAIN AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
When young children are exposed to digital technology at high rates, their brain may adopt an internet method to thought – quickly glancing and processing many sources of information at once.
A child who uses electronics excessively may develop poor social skills such as communicating, listening, or even making eye contact.
ARE YOU ADDICTED TO TECHNOLOGY?
What do you do first thing in the morning, right after you wake up? If you pick up your phone and mindlessly check your messages or scroll Instagram, you are not alone. Surprising? Rather not.
Too much time on the Internet can lead to reduced levels of Dopamine, the feel-good chemical. It plays a big part in our unique human abilities to think and plan.
OUR MEMORY ISNT GREAT, NEITHER IS OUR ATTENTION SPAN
Back in traditional times, people used to memorize and retain as much information and prized the ability to do so. It seems like the current generation is unable to recall as much information as the older generations.
In a so-called Digital World, where all the information in the world is at our fingertips, we do not bother retaining facts. Who needs to know the capital of Latvia when you can ask google?
Research in 2007 showed that younger subjects were less likely to remember birthdays or even their phone numbers. Social media and the Internet have shortened our attention spans.
CONCLUSION
Healthy and humane use of technology lies beyond the glory and gloom of innovation.
Technology is not good or bad, for it knows no ethics and principles but the real disease is human recklessness. Our entire society has been formulated around technology, much like it was centered around factories during the Industrial Revolution.
So is technology rotting our brains? It depends on us as individuals. As the saying goes anything too much is too bad.
Written by Uzma Begum