Impact of technology on our growth

Over the most recent couple of decades, technology has advanced exponentially. Be it smartphones, the internet, laptops, or several other thousands of devices.  Look around you, how many screens do you see? Did you include the one you’re pursuing this on? Think for a second, if you did not have any of these technological gadgets with you, How would you feel?  Feeling incomplete!  I am sure anxiety will start flowing once gadgets are taken away from you.

According to a survey an average Indian spent nearly 1800 hours a year looking at the screens. Do you think this is normal? With these advancements, most people think they will develop serious physical and mental health issues.

Let’s now come to a point and see how this technological influx in our lives has impacted us.

1. Decision Making

Think of a situation when you are planning to buy a new laptop. What will you do first?  Most probably, you will go online and Google for it. You will gather facts and figures and do research. No matter what is be the case – Whether you want to find a college, start a new career or you want to find some answers to your health issues- You will always turn to the internet for all the possible queries you have in your life.  This is because; we don’t answer on our hunches and consistently need to assemble statistical data points to settle on all-around educated choices.

2. Phantom Vibration Syndrome

This is a syndrome when a person thinks that his or her phone is vibrating when it is actually not. This is because everything in your day-to-day life is linked with your brain. So, with the usage of these smartphones over the years your brain gets configured to these vibrations. Hence sometimes your brain perceives these vibrations which are not present.

Here is a short video to understand  Phantom Vibration Syndrome {Click here}

3. Shortened Attention

This is a syndrome when a person thinks that his or her phone is vibrating when it is actually not. This is because everything in your day-to-day life is linked with your brain. So, with the usage of these smartphones over the years your brain gets configured to these vibrations. Hence sometimes your brain perceives these vibrations which are not present.

4. Relationship Building

By end of 2021, social media users will increase to 400.3 million from 376.1 million.  Now, couple this up with people who are constantly messaging each other daily through these social media platforms. You will get a fair idea of how we are building and maintaining relationships!  I have personally seen many people these days while at parties, family/friends dinner sticking to their screens, texting some distant friends or relatives, surfing the internet, or engaging on social media platforms. Are we maintaining healthy relationships with our people who are present at the very moment? Most people these days might say these platforms are good for maintaining relationships. However, it must be considered how youngsters who are growing up glancing at gadgets in the possession of their seniors get affected by it. Will they be able to develop Interpersonal or relationship-building skills, or will they become isolated from personal, close contact?

5. FOMO

Fear of missing out (FOMO) is a state of mind where a person who is suffering from social anxiety that something important is going on or other people are having fun while he is missing it. It characterized by a continuous desire to remain connected with what others are doing and he or she should not miss it.

This is one of the most common health issues, millennials (born between 1980 -1994) are facing these days. This reason is  over usage of the social media platforms which are bombarded with lots of check-ins, pictures, posts, and parties. The continuous flow of information from peers and their way of living have taken a huge toll on the mental health of these millennials.

The above case is not just for the millennials but also for the baby boomers (born between 1946 -1964). In a survey, it was found that 88% of millennials use social media daily in comparison to baby boomers that are at 86%. Can you see there is not much difference between the two? But why are these percentages so high? Just because they have easy access to the internet and mobile devices?  Maybe the answer is yes.

In any case, the millennials and baby boomers invest a considerable amount of energy on the web. With regards to surfing the web on their cell phones, 20-30-year olds go through around 40 minutes out of every day, and people born between 1946-1964 go through around 23 minutes of the day.

I shall conclude by saying that, everybody is using the innovation according to their own benefit. If by chance you missed reading above focuses that educate you on the concerns how innovation is affecting your wellbeing, I would recommend you to pursue them again and afterward settle on a wary choice of utilizing the technology in a more secure manner that doesn’t affect your wellbeing, overall development of your youngsters (children).

Author: Nikhil SharmaI am working for a healthcare company. Which is working towards a goal to make the lives of Hospitals painless with the help of technology. I have written plenty of articles before but that was only during my student years. Right now with lots of enthusiasm, I have started this website svasthyatech.com to aware people of all the advancements that are going on in the field of the healthcare industry.