Technology: Smart Phones, Dumb People In today’s society technology is ever present, it constantly evolves and adapts to suit our everyday needs. While technology does have positive effects for humanity there are many adverse effects which specifically target the most impressionable members of our society, our youth. Children of today have constant access to multiple forms of technology throughout the day. However, a child’s interactions with a tablet or smartphone are seldom found to be a problem in the eyes of their parent. Reports of severe, long lasting health issues associated with technology are a staple in the news and media. While an adult may complain about his/her “Carpal Tunnel Syndrome” as a result of a day of rigorous Facebooking, a child may be enduring long lasting health issues from the same level of interaction. If we continue to turn a blind eye to our nation’s youth then we are not only doing a disservice to them, but to ourselves.
One of the major issues I think the majority of people we know are all guilty of is Texting. Texting for those who don’t know (or have been under a rock in the last ten years) is the ability to send a short message composed of text to a device such as a smartphone, tablet, etc. For most texting is a primary form of communication. It doesn't seem bad at a glance, people text all the time, while they're walking, in class, and even while driving. What harm could come of a small message? The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that in 2010 driver distraction was the cause of 18 percent of all fatal crashes – with 3,092 people killed – and crashes resulting in an injury – with 416,000 people wounded. More than ten percent of drivers aged 18 to 20 who were involved in an automobile accident and survived admitted they were sending or receiving texts when they crashed. Texting while driving is so dangerous it has sparked nationwide attention and the birth of organizations like “itcanwait.com” a website dedicated to keeping adolecents from using there technological devices while operating a motor vehicle saying “No text message, email, website of video is worth rick of endanering my life of the lives of others on the road. I pledge to never text and drive and will take action to educate others about the dangers of texting while driving”.
Parents play a major role in technology's effect on children and adolescents. These parents are the main gateway to these small devices. Purchasing them for their young children, often with good intentions. Anita Gurian, PhD was quoted saying “Do you know where your kids are? For many parents the answer is a resounding yes; they always know where their kids are. Cell phones have changed family life in many ways. They provide parents with peace of mind, and they're great in emergencies.” What parent would not want to be in touch with their kids as much a possible? What these parents do not realize is that the thing they are buying to stay closer to their kids is one of the major reasons kids are becoming so disconnected. Steiner-Adiar author of “The Big Disconnect” quotes “Preschool and kindergarten teachers report kids who are more impulsive and less able to wait their turn, make transitions, engage actively in learning, and calm themselves when they've had a setback”. These kids go home and live “In there own world” spending large amounts of time watching television and playing on their handheld devices while parents go along with their day like everything is how it should be. Shows about talking sponges and crime solving dogs give children a false sense of dependence and somewhere to turn to. Television has become better at raising kids then the parents themselves. Not seeing that their child is slowly becoming disconnected with the world around them. Parents do not see them damage that is slowly developing in their children
Nothing productive happens when these kids are on their devices. They eat junk food and stare blindly into a screen, so much infact that it’s causing problems, and not small ones. Katie Hafner, writer for the New York Times recently wrote an article showing some of the many issues that these technological addicts are suffering from. “The phenomenon is beginning to worry physicians and psychologists, who say it is leading to anxiety, distraction in school, falling grades, repetitive stress injury and sleep deprivation.” The rates of anxiety in children are growing rapidly, fear of being out of the loop insights panic Katie goes on to say. Along with the psychological stress it also comes with it’s physical toll. Annie Wagner, a 15 year old student who sends 100+ text a day, is now experiencing painful cramping in her thumbs. Peter W Johnson (associate professor of environmental and occupational health at the university of washington) writes, “Based on our experiences with computer users, we know intensive repetitive use of the upper extremities can lead to musculoskeletal disorders, so we have some reason to be concerned that too much texting could lead to temporary or permanent damage to the thumbs.” The long term effects of smashing your fingers into a tiny keyboard day in and day out can lead to arthritis, carpal tunnel, and in some severe cases victims lose the ability to move there thumbs. As these kids attempt to grow into adult with their faces constantly illuminated by these tiny glowing screens there ability to develop life skills such as coping strategies and conversational skills are severely damaged. They become glued to these devices looking to them for comfort whenever anxious thoughts enter their minds. At the same time these anxious thoughts enter their minds whenever they are away from this mobile device, this leads to almost a co dependence; an unnatural attachment to these inanimate objects. They develop a vicious downward cycle, even as I'm typing this I can feel myself developing a strange attraction for this glowing hypnotic screen.
Technology is damaging the children and adolescents of today. Texting provides a consistent distraction for kids and teens. Parents are purchasing these disconnects for their kids to waste away on. The aforementioned disconnected (smart phones, tablets, etc.) are causing major health problems including a rise in anxiety, physical ailments and developmental damage. The things that were meant to further our society and damaging it severely. We are stuck in the generation of smartphones, and dumb people.