Mental Health and Technology
How Misuse of Technology Might Damage Our Physical and Mental Health
Over-consumption of good things can be detrimental too.
Misuse and overuse of technology have turned out to be silent killers for society. With overindulgence, we disconnect from our true selves and tend to self-destruct with neurochemical imbalances at a toxic level.
Even though technology intends to improve our health and extend our life spans, unfortunately, misuse of it can cause several damages. We sometimes feel miserable for no apparent reason.
We embrace by getting excited about the benefits of new technology devices entering our lives. Some of them are absolute lifesavers and are designed to reduce stress and increase productivity.
However, the gluttony of some addictive tools makes us vulnerable and miserable in the long run. We overlook the harm even to our bodies with pain signs. We only notice and experience severe damage later. Sometimes it gets too late when we face devastating health problems.
While technology tools improve our economies and businesses, they adversely affect our physical and mental health. The emergence of devices to save us time and reduce our stress now wastes our precious time, increasing pressure and causing chronic stress. We turned a positive tool into a negative one ruining our lives. Therefore, I see technology as a double-edged sword.
It is not difficult to observe the toxic damages of addictive technologies at physical, mental, and spiritual levels. The most significant adverse effect of technology on our mental health is attention and concentration deficit. Attention and focus are our most important capabilities to survive and thrive. Unfortunately, obsession with technology and misuse of shiny tools damages our focus and attention.
When the brain loses attention and focus, it defaults to creating anxiety and fear for imagined situations. The brain cannot distinguish between real and imagined threats. As our stress, anxiety, and fear increase, distractions kill our joy, creativity, and productivity. Depressive feelings caused by excessive pleasure are an example of our self-destruction. Anhedonia is unbearable and not enjoyable at all.
From physical aspects, many of those who overuse technology devices such as laptops and smartphones experience severe muscular problems. Our fingers, thumbs, and wrists are affected the most by small devices. In addition, sore neck, shoulder pain, and backache become very common.
Moreover, both traditional and emerging technology devices made us lazier and caused us to live a sedentary life. Due to the comfort of our cars, we neglected movement. We get hooked on TV shows and forget about exercising. Sitting too long in front of a TV screen makes our muscles sore.
New devices like smartphones, tablets, and laptops, coupled with the excitement of social media, make us more tired and feel empty. We make thousands of friends with strangers who have no idea who we are. Frankly, most of them don’t even care except about getting likes for their posts and gaining followers to show off.
These exciting devices grapple our attention, and we hook them into the screens. But, sadly, too much screen time harms our vision. For example, many of us experience blurred vision and dry eyes due to the over-consumption of electronic devices.
In addition, excessive screen use also damages our circadian rhythm, so we experience sleep disturbances like insomnia. As sleep is critical for our physical and mental health, deprivation of it introduces many more mental health problems with increased stress and anxiety. Chronic stress is the cause of many physical and mental ailments.
Our kids are affected more than older folks. As they grow with technology, it feels natural to them. Even though connecting to a broader world via the Internet is a blessing, kids now cannot live without it. The Internet has become as important as electricity. We can’t deny the benefits of electricity and cars as traditional technologies. However, their misuse damaged our health. We should learn from our past mistakes.
With the emergence of the Internet, a new behavior occurred. First, younger kids got addicted to electronic toys and shows. Then, teenagers got addicted to computers, online games, and video games, empowered by marvelous gaming consoles and streaming platforms. And adults got addicted to streaming videos and television shows. Binge-watching became a lifestyle for some families.
We experience emotional, mental, and spiritual disconnection due to social isolation as a result of the overuse of emerging technology devices. Younger people have more mood swings by becoming either more aggressive or depressed. Addictive brains also cause some people to over-consume alcohol and use recreational drugs to fill in the void.
Less time in real-life on more time in virtual life brings several behavioral and physical problems. Some video games introduce violence. Games introducing violence have become popular. Teenagers learn about discrimination and bullying in the online world.
Technology addiction causes mindless overeating and drinking for some, and it leads to obesity. The consumption of junk foods skyrockets during screen time. People do not care about cooking their meals, so they use the convenience of technology to order food online, play more games or watch more streaming videos.
Reading books and listening to the radio are used to increase attention span and improve focus and imagination. However, the younger generation does not enjoy reading books or listening to radio programs due to emerging technology devices. Instead, videos grab their attention and make them passive learners. Worst of all, by hiding in the virtual world, kids learn about online bullying.
I am not against technology. In fact, I embrace it and use it to improve my life. However, despite my cautious use, my physical and mental health was severely affected by overuse and misuse in my younger years. The addictive nature of emerging technologies is undeniable.
Therefore, as a technology advocate, I also feel obliged to show the harmful effects of technology to address these known issues and mitigate risks with the mindful use of technology, especially social media. As mentioned before, just doing a short social media fast brought many benefits to my mental health and well-being.
Technology, per se, is not harmful. However, our misuse and overuse of it can be damaging. The most significant risk of technology relates to the dopamine system in the brain. Our brain is not designed to release too much dopamine.
But these devices and related services cause frequent and excessive release of this tricky hormone. Imbalances of dopamine are one of the major causes of motivational issues. Kids and teenagers quickly get bored and always seek excitement. But the brain will put a break for the over-production of dopamine as part of the punishment system.
Rather than condemning technology, in my opinion, we need to re-assess its use and take persuasive cautions. For example, scheduling screen time, online gaming, and social media and replacing them with more offline and more meaningful activities can significantly eliminate potential damage by reducing stress, anxiety, and a sense of social isolation. In addition, meaningful engagements can help us reconnect with our minds, hearts, and souls.
You might say it is easier said than done. You are right.
Even though it is therapeutic for me, writing this article in front of my PC by touch-typing has unintentionally tensed my shoulders, neck, wrist, hands, and fingers. So, with this awareness, I decided to have a 15-minute break before my next screen-related task. Hopefully, a few quick breathing and stretching exercising with five minutes of closing my eyes with gratitude can bring the balance back. Here is What We Got Wrong About Creativity and Productivity.
Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and happy life.
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