Extremely Negative Impact Of Technology Within Society

Technology plays a huge aspect in society nowadays, it’s inescapable. We’re constantly immersed in it, we constantly rely on it and we could not live without it. These points should be key signs that in the past few years’ technology is slowly beginning to have a negative impact on us. Technology is turning into a drug. It’s becoming an addiction and we’re depending on it too much. This addiction is classed as a “behavioural addiction” in which a person becomes dependent on the use of the Internet, or other devices, as a maladaptive way of coping with the stress of day to day life. 

Although not classified as an actual addiction, Delaney Ruston, a physician who produced the documentary “Screenagers”, points to many studies that review MRI scans of the brains of people who spend 20 hours or more using technology. When the scans are compared to people who are addicted to drugs or alcohol, their brains look very similar. This addiction is caused due to people spending an exorbitant amount of time using technology, especially mobile phones. This interaction with this amount of technology gives pleasure and makes us happy. Therefore this stimulates the person’s brain releasing dopamine which leaves them wanting to constantly come back for more.

Smartphone’s are becoming a dangerous distraction resulting in serious consequences. Our phones are so engaging that we’re just unable to put them down. A prime example of this is texting when driving which is remarkably dangerous and places lots of people’s lives at risk. Last year drivers using a mobile phone were involved in crashes which killed the equivalent of one person every 10 days. This statistic screams that technology, especially Smartphone’s, is becoming a serious problem and having an extremely negative impact within society. 

It’s not just when driving that Smartphone’s are becoming serious distraction but also in many aspects of our everyday life. We endlessly think about them when we don’t use them and we are incapable of putting them down once engaged. We have this fear of missing out on something that’s happening in this “online world “. If we were strong willed enough to put them down, we could as a society be ten times more productive than we already are. 

More work would get down, pupils would put in more revision, there would be more focus in classes, their grades would eventually increase, more students would go to university, less people would be jobless and so on. I’ll admit myself I could have had this essay finished a lot sooner if my phone didn’t sidetrack me so much. It’s about have the faculty to just say no and put down your phone. However easy this may seem, carrying it out is a harder challenge than you would think. Who would have thought these tiny devices could cause such a massive hindrance in our lives.