Broken Dreams From Too Many Screens

After learning the few of many dangerous effects technology has on people from my first blog post, I decided to take my research even deeper than I already have and started thinking about how technology is not only affecting elders, it’s also affecting today’s youth. I realized that the research I’ve been looking for was right there in front of me... Literally. I realized that I attend a technology based school where teenagers are using technology everywhere. In the halls during lunch, their classrooms, almost in every room in the building. So I decided to take an action and observe a few of my friends without them knowing and I found out that teenagers use more technology than they realize. During this study I took a picture of the table that I was sitting at about every 20 minutes, regardless whether if they were using technology or not I took the picture anyway.

As I took my photos I started to notice that there wasn’t much conversation or physical contact. Everyone was either doing homework, playing a game, or texting. If you didn’t notice that Alex (on the right) and Ijustice (In the middle) are both using a laptop, but are also on their cell phones. This can cause a severe neck and wrist injury. I started to dig deeper into the topic and finally found a website that shows statistics and points out the main points on how technology ruins your body. After looking down for about an hour or so, your posture starts to weaken your shoulders drop and you start getting neck pains. These pains are called Repetitive Stress Injuries, also known as RSI’s.  

RSI’s are Known for when people use too much technology such as phones, laptops etc and start to get injured from them. Some injuries known as carpal tunnel, which is swelling inside a narrow "tunnel" formed by bone and ligament in the wrist; the tunnel surrounds nerves that conduct sensory and motor impulses to and from the hand, leading to pain, tingling, and numbness. This happens to be very painful, and about 3% of women and 2% of men will be diagnosed with carpel tunnel in their life time. If you think about it that’s only one of the many injuries caused by technology. Technology doesn't only harm you physically but also mentally. I read an article of psychology that explains how technology is changing the way children these days think. ‘’There is also little doubt that all of the new technologies, led by the Internet, are shaping the way we think in ways obvious and subtle, deliberate and unintentional, and advantageous and detrimental the uncertain reality is that, with this new technological frontier in its infancy and developments emerging at a rapid pace, we have neither the benefit of historical hindsight nor the time to ponder or examine the value and cost of these advancements in terms of how it influences our children’s ability to think’’ what he means by this is that with all this new technology that’s evolving or advancing so rapidly that it’s taking over the minds of children which is affecting their abilities to think.

After doing all my research and observing my fellow students I realized that I needed to make a difference as if I were an agent of change. Although I am not sure what I will be doing for my part if change I know what message I am trying to give out.  By doing that I would also like to raise awareness so I can influence as many people as I can to use a less amount of technology after I have finished my project.

Click here for my first Blog post.

Click here for my Annotated Bibliography.