Technology is here to stay, but it’s always growing and expanding. As each new technology enters the scene, it has the potential to improve lives. All manner of technology surrounds us. From our laptops, tablets, and phones to behind-the-scenes technology that furthers medicine, science, and education.
While technology offers a new and unlimited medium for information and knowledge to our children and a border-free means of communication, the negative effects of technology cannot be overstated. Let’s see some of the most common dangers of technology use on the physical and mental health, education, and social life of children and teenagers.
Education
While the unlimited amount of information available online is conducive to education, it has not advanced the cause of education to any great extent, it seems. The ready availability of information has led to an overuse of technology in the classroom which negatively affects the learning process. Apart from fostering plagiarism and cheating in the classroom, the overuse of technology and the Internet has adversely affected powers of analysis and critical thinking. This is not mere speculation and studies have shown that increased engagement in entertainment technologies like games and social media leads to poorer academic performance.
Physical effects
The negative impacts of technology on the physical health of youngsters are probably the most easily quantifiable of all the negatives of technology. The most commonly touted health effect of technology use has been metabolic diseases caused by stagnant lifestyles fostered by technology use. Sitting with a digital device not only reduces the amount of physical movement required to stay healthy but also induces snacking more, all of which leads among many illnesses, to obesity. Constant sitting also leads to back and neck problems, which have now been exacerbated by bending into the handheld device all the time, leading to an entirely new disease – Text Neck. Tendonitis in the thumb caused by repeated use of thumbs to push buttons on devices or playing too many games and Carpal Tunnel syndrome are other physical problems that are caused by overuse of the wrist and fingers to type on different devices.
Constant staring at the screen could lead to chronic headaches and poor eyesight; the digital vision syndrome is now a new set of ailments that are becoming prevalent. Loud and incessant music in headphones is likely to cause hearing loss and ringing in the ears.
Mental health
Technology addiction is a serious mental health problem that is triggered by the use/overuse of digital tools, and this can destroy the child’s health and social life, and destroys social and family bonds. Chronic Smartphone Stress is a newly discovered problem of digital usage, wherein constant notifications and interactions with the digital tools are establishing new stress-fear memory pathways in the brain. The part of our brains that normally deal with higher-level thinking shuts down under such flight-fight states and costs us brain power and time.
Depression and anxiety are directly linked with social network usage. A 2016 systematic review showed the link between social networks and depression and anxiety. Children who overuse technology may be more likely to experience mental health issues, lack of attention, low creativity, delays in language development, delays in social and emotional development, and addiction to these technologies. A study of teenagers aged 15–16 found that those engaging in digital media for longer times had an increased chance of developing symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Social Health
Human beings are social animals and have over millennia, lived in social groups. The social recluse has always been an exception to the norm, until the advent of the Internet and social media, originally intended to bring people together, has physically isolated us from each other. This appears especially true of the young population. A 2017study of young adults in the age group of 19–32 years found that people with higher social media use were more than three times as likely to feel socially isolated than those who did not use social media as often. “Social networking” is in reality “social isolation”.
It has been said that the overuse of technology is depriving our children of social skills. Children prefer to chat on online platforms rather than meet up with a friend in person. Replacement of real-life interaction with online communication results in the loss of the ability to read cues like facial expressions, body language, and tone.
Safety
Misuse of technology can expose the child to several risks. One in three teenagers are victims of cyberbullying. Another risky teenage technology abuse is sexting; 39% of teens admit to having sent text messages, and almost half of the teenagers have received digital messages containing nudity. The ease of information access has blurred the borders of privacy and personal information can be used by hackers for nefarious purposes, thus putting the child at risk.
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