Everyone knows that there is always a price to pay to use technology. Technology does not only cost us our privacy and our freedom, but it also can cost our lives. The lives of many people are on the line each day, each day they people spend on their smartphone, computer and other electronics it’s another day they that many peoples’ bodies are being pushed to their limits. So the reason “Why your tech is a pain in your neck. And back. And eyes” is because people like myself and like many others don’t know the risk it pose to the body and brain. Susan Friedman explains that she has been putting her phone away when she is exercising and is constantly moving. It is a challenge to stop oneself from the use of social media and technology. However, if she doesn’t do this or if no one does the body becomes tense, the eyes start fluttering, “neck aches. Sore back. Eyestrain. Thumb strain. Poor sleep. Lack of focus” becomes symptoms that digital age is involved with. Likewise, “[the] use of laptops, phones, and tablets all day can lead to chronic pain and possibility blunted long-term memory” as well as a dependence on “being constantly connected – and anxious when you’re not.”
The consequences of technology haven’t stopped people from going online and playing long hours a day or even read from a small screen. What they don’t know is that by always having their head down and sitting with a bad posture can lead to a misaligned spine and putting “as much as 60 pounds of force” on their neck. Yet, even when people do feel the pain they decide not to do anything and keep playing, reading and ignored the issue. For example, younger children are hard to deal with when it comes to electronics. They might not listen and ignore their parents’ advice, children who play “mobile [games], which relies on longer periods of intense, repetitive action, increases [the] risk” of the overuse of the joint at the thumb’s base. The point is that many people not just children are drown by technology that it takes part of their daily routine and are absorbed by digital work. Friedman, also explains that the mind is being affected and has come to be an issue for many people. The ability to explain, recall or even do something has taken people to an extended in which they are not able to process and retain information. Anthony Wagnet a Stanford professor has found that “heavy multitaskers found it hard to ignore irrelevant information when performing a single mental task”. Wagnet also says that brains don’t really multitask, what the brain does is switching from one activity to another. So having a smartphone, tablet or any other device cannot only give the illusion of a false reality, intrusion to privacy, but it can lead to chronic pain and other body issues. It is hard not to have the phone at hand or any other electronics, but it is better if when people use their phone at night they set it up to “orange-hued”, because the “exposure to green and blue light before bedtime is especially harmful.” People have to be informed of the consequences technology can do to ones body. People need to distract themselves and live a healthy life without being in constant pain or even blind from using the phone. Just like Friedman says “ You have to set aside time for yourself that no one can interrupt…. You’ve got to take control of your technology rather than let it take control of you.”
3 Comments
12/16/2016 11:03:05 pm
I definitely agree with what you said in this article about the effects technology has over its usage. I have been finding it more difficult to find time to use for working out because I always have a quota of YouTube videos I want to see everyday. This is why I plan on exercising throughout this winter break and hopefully during next semester as well. Hopefully I don't suffer any back or neck pains like you mentioned in this blog before that plan comes to fruition.
Reply
Brandon E
12/18/2016 05:31:19 pm
In most cases, I say you are right about everything in this article, except when I hear arguments like "too much force when looking down". Just don't look down. Stick the device or monitor on something to prop it up. I don't support arguments that are easily fixable. That's my stance. I do fear the day if/when I get carpal tunnel from using a keyboard. Until then though, I'll stick to my lifestyle.
Reply
Briana Campbell
12/18/2016 06:30:53 pm
It has become a huge issue of how dependent we've become with our technology and often times we are blind to see how much it effects us mentally, physically, and socially. Technology has brought a lot of great things to our lives but if absorbed too much in it, we can be deeply affecting our lives. People need to have a balance and be able to pull away from their technology and enjoy life through natural lense.
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorI transferred to CSUMB in the Spring 2016 from Hartnell Community College. I'm currently working towards my bachelor's in Network and Security and minor in Business Administration. ![]() Archives
December 2016
Categories |