Blog Post #4

My inquiry question is: Are humans becoming over dependent on technology?

In my previous post, I have provided information about some signs and evidences on what makes a person become too dependent on technology as well as the reasons why humans tend to find technology convenient for our daily lives. In this second round of research, I will research further more on the dangers and risks of technology dependence in case our technology reliability goes out of hand later on. When there are advantages of using technologies, there are also cons of which we need to look out for so that we can hopefully recognize and solve these problems.

One of the dangers of technology dependence we usually face with is anxiety and depression. When it comes to these emotions, it is most likely to be from social media pressure, the rise of cyber bullying or the bright phone display level that is harmful to our sleep which are all linked to worsen mental health. According to a study by the University of Missouri, we are likely to develop feelings of depression as we envy our friends user’s activities and lifestyles, said Margaret Duffy, a professor and chair of strategic communication. Another one is impatience. Since people can be available and accessible at all time, most of us get frustrated whenever someone does not answer their phone right away or when it’s seen but has not yet responded. (2)

Isolation is one of the psychological effect of overuse on technology. Even if social medias are designed to bring people together, they may have different effect in some cases. A 2017 study in young adults aged 19-32 years found that people with higher social media use were three times more likely to feel socially isolated than those who did not use it as often. We can set time limits for social apps to reduce feelings of isolation in some people. Eyestrain is a physical health effect that causes symptoms such as blurry vision and dry eyes. It can also lead to pains to other body areas, head, neck, or shoulders. Viewing too close or too far away, screen glare, poor sitting posture and screen brightness technological factors may lead to eyestrain.

The most common effect we face is sleep problems. Using technology too close to bedtime can cause issues with sleep as the screen display blue light. A 2014 study found that this blue light is enough to disturb the body’s natural circadian rhythm. It could make it hard to fall asleep or make a person feel less alert the next day. It would be the best to do gentle activities to wind down instead, such as reading a book, doing gentle stretches, taking a bath and etc… (3) Lastly we can also find difficulties with job loss or unemployment as technology makes traditional jobs that were originally created for people, obsolete. It has advanced to the point that a computer are capable of doing some jobs faster and accurately than a person. (1)

Us, humans find benefits on using technologies and internet however this research had looked further more into the negatives such as health and mental risks of technology dependence we are having. In conclusion, I hope this post had made you perceive and acknowledge more into the problems we usually face with.

1. Bergsma, Randi. “What Are the Disadvantages of Technology?” Synonym, 26 June 2018, https://classroom.synonym.com/what-are-the-disadvantages-of-technology-12083192.html.
2. “Is Society Too Dependent on Technology? 10 Shocking Facts.” University of the People, 10 Feb. 2021, https://www.uopeople.edu/blog/society-too-dependent-on-technology/
3. 3. “Negative Effects of Technology: Psychological, Social, and Health.” Medical News Today, MediLexicon International, https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/negative-effects-of-technology#in-children.