In these days it is hard to believe to satay a day without internet and mobile phone. These technologies are so much rooted in to our lifestyles. One way it is good, it gave us the updated news, can connect with people and chat with anyone at any time, helps us to plan our journeys, book the tickets, refer something and can even learn new things from anywhere. Good, but the overuse of the smart phone and internet makes some negative effects to our lifestyle and our productivity.
Lets look at the some of the technology addiction and how it affects our life and let us check some ways to break from it.
Internet Addiction
Frequent internet surfing, watching online videos, playing online games, searching on Internet, wandering through news feeds are some of our routines. Initially started for searching some wanted things and later turned to killing free time, then to a habit. The disadvantage is it can lead to lower productivity at work, for kids lower productivity at school. Surfing the internet actually isolates us from others for hours. Sometime we may forget out duties or work.
Social Media Addiction
This is one of the fastest growing addiction. Most of us have at least one online social account. Regularly we check for updates and spend time to chat with online friends. The draw back of online social relationship is it can cause us to neglect from real-world relationships. This habit may spoil our time for spending on our hobbies. sometimes we may neglect our neighbors and next door friends.
Stress and Anxiety Problems
Playing excessive online games, participate in gambling, doing stock trading online through mobiles, online bidding or auction in online sites may lead to excessive stress and financial problems. Now with an app anyone can do online trading without any help from others. Doing day trading may lead to anxiety and may affect our day job. Increasing stress makes impossible to focus attention on what we are doing. As we are fully focusing on the stock movements, it may some time adversely affects our full time job. Participating in gambling spoil our time and money which may leads to depression.
Loneliness and depression
Excessive addiction to social networks, dating websites may sometimes spoil your relationship with your family members and friends. The excessive texting, and messaging can leads to a situation where your online friends become more important than real-life friends and relationships ! Two friends sitting together in a table sometimes may ignore each other and engaging with their chats on their smart phone.
Disturbing your sleep
The constant stream of updates, notification and messages from your smartphone can overwhelm your brain and make it impossible to focus attention on what you are doing. It may ruin your ability to concentrate and think deeply or creatively. If the smartphone is at your arms reach, you will check social media, chat messages, news headline frequently. Your smartphone screen emits blue light and the brain interprets it as daylight. The blue light suppresses melatonin (a hormone that affects circadian rhythm). the brain feel stimulated and tougher to get a good sleep.
The Solution,
Uninstall Overusing Apps
This is a good solution, I just removed a social media app from my phone that I a regularly using 24 hours a day. The result, I stopped frequently checking my smartphone for updates ! I check the website though my laptop or computer once in a day or twice in a week, enough for me to get notified.
Keep your gadgets out of the bedroom
By keeping the devices outside, you’ll minimize the urge of using it. You can minimize the urge to play games or chat with your friends. You can pay attention to your loved one. You will reduce your radiation exposure. The studies says that phone emit a form of non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation that can be absorbed by body tissues located near the phone. You’ll definitely relax from alert messages and notification messages from your phone and definitely you will get a good sleep.
Set a Time Limit
Don’t waste your valuable time, fix a time for using internet, smartphone and computers. Set restrictions for your child on using game consoles. Set time limits for using social media.
What you are thinking about tech addiction. Do you have an remedy to minimize the overuse of gadgets?
