In this article, you will get to know all details about “How Technology Affects Mental Health“.
In today’s world, it seems next to impossible to live without technology, so have you ever thought about how technology affects mental health?
Technology has completely changed how an individual lives. There is no age limit to the use of technology.
You’ll definitely see preschoolers using smartphones and tablets when you look around. Because of the rapid advancements in technology, usage and dependency are increasing every day.
Have you ever considered how technology affects human mental health? In the last few decades, technology has taken over a greater portion of our lives, affecting our mental health in particular.
How Technology Affects Mental Health
Our lives have become even more convenient and simpler thanks to technology. Look around you for a moment, can you see the emerging effects of technology on mental health?
As a person who is exceptionally connected to digital media, the internet, and technology, one can easily identify the emerging negative effects of technology on mental health.
Having 24-hour digital connectivity is good in some ways, but most importantly, it is alarming.
An individual becomes more harmful to society as their dependency and use increase.
The purpose of this article is mainly to highlight the negative effects of technology on our mental health. Let’s begin by going through some amazing content.
Negative Effects of Technology on Mental Health:
Our mental health is adversely affected by technology, apart from its positive effects and never-ending contributions to our lives.
We have become so obsessed with technology that we have considered ourselves as a product of an online world while letting others value us as such.
It is not only that we allow others to value us according to their perceptions, but we also take the viewpoints so seriously that the perceptions negatively affect our mental health.
It is said;
In order to achieve mental health, one must go through a process. Driving is about how you drive, not where you go.
Technology and the internet play a major role in all aspects of our lives, whether they be personal, professional, or academic.
The constant use of technology and the internet affects our mental health and makes us more dependent on them, which leads to a variety of problems that negatively affect our mental health.
According to current world conditions, technology is essential even for survival in today’s world. However, when the need becomes an addiction, it causes problems that directly affect our mental health.
Without further ado, let’s take a closer look at how technology negatively impacts mental health:
Isolation from the Society:
How does isolation affect the mental health of human beings who are social creatures? Here are some things we need to know:
Among all the creatures on earth, humans are the most communal and social. It is in their nature to interact with the individuals living in society. However, technology has ruined this in a negative way.
Due to technology’s excessive use, we have become so addicted that we have destroyed the element of human interaction on our own.
As we use technology more and more, we feel disconnected from the real world, which results in mental unrest.
In September 2017, research was conducted
People are social creatures, and living an isolated lifestyle for a prolonged period of time can negatively impact both their physical and mental health.
Technology addiction and isolation do not happen all at once, they happen little by little, slowly and gradually as you use it more and more.
There is a saying that says;
The health risks of isolation and loneliness are comparable to those of smoking 15 cigarettes a day.
There is no way to keep ourselves away from technology and the internet in a social setting.
We spend more time on the internet than we do with our friends, family, and colleagues, resulting in a feeling of loneliness even when we’re around others.
Individuals suffering from the fear of missing out are more likely to feel isolated from society. Isolation often occurs as a result of the fear of missing out on something you achieve through usage.
I will be discussing more related to the fear of missing out (FOMO).
According to McGill’s research, the longer a person remains isolated, the more likely it is to experience high levels of anxiety, depression, and even hallucinations in the most severe cases.
Lack of Proper Sleep:
Our sleep quality has been greatly impacted by technology. Stress caused by excessive use of technology makes it impossible to sleep properly.
The quality of your sleep contributes to the overall health of your body. In order to achieve good mental health, you must get enough sleep.
Overuse of the internet at night leads to irregular sleep patterns, which causes severe headaches and stress.
As a result of the rays emitted from these devices, we are compelled to use them more and more, which disrupts our sleep patterns. We are constantly awakened by the gadgets we use.
Weird attitude:
Our personalities are ruined by technology, which has negative effects on our mental health.
As a result of excessive technology use, human beings reacted poorly in social settings,
It is important to interact with human beings in a social setting to gain mental peace because humans are social creatures.
We still prefer our smartphones and digital media engagements over communication with our friends and family, which is of course the most important part of our lives.
Because of the lack of communication, they don’t even know how to act in their respective environment.
We spoil our reputation in social gatherings because of bad behavior and weird attitudes caused by a lack of communication.
Addiction:
Have you ever thought about how often you check your phone? In just one hour, we check our phones so many times without any good or relevant reason. Did you ever wonder why?
Maybe you’d answer that this is our need, that it’s important to be updated, etc.
Most of the time, we do not check our phones because we have a relevant need to do so, we do it out of habit, and we check them continuously because we have an addiction to them.
Technology addiction is the root cause of many emerging problems and negatively affects our mental health.
There are various types of addictions among different age groups, such as playing video games children. Social media addiction is common among teenagers, whereas technology addiction is common among adults.
Therefore, you will see individuals of all ages getting addicted to the excessive use of technology. This means that almost all age groups will see people with unstable mental health.
Fear of Missing Out (FOMO):
What is it about you that is causing you to be distressed and fearful of losing out on things that are ultimately unimportant?
In the age group of roughly 20-25 years, fear of missing out is becoming more prevalent.
Fear of missing out is effectively and absolutely nothing more than an addiction to the internet and technology.
Our fear of missing out on even one new feed on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Linked In, etc., makes us curious and anxious, which makes us frustrated.
The fear of missing out can be decreased if and only if we stop relying more on social media than in person to build connections.
Almost everyone feels anxious, depressed, and insecure about many serious matters due to the actual fear of missing out (FOMO).
Anxiety and Depression:
Is technology capable of causing anxiety and depression? There is no doubt that the answer is yes…
Anxiety and depression are some of the most common mental health effects of technology. It is not uncommon for someone to suffer from an inferiority complex as a result of fear of missing out, insecurity, and a sense of insecurity.
One of the major causes of anxiety and depression is excessive use of technology and social media, which adversely affects mental health, mental peace, and mental stability.
Its overwhelming negative effects of it are making it even more harmful, while its positive and beneficial effects are almost nonexistent.
FINAL THOUGHT:
Despite the many contributions of technology in various fields, technology poses a threat to our society.
For our mental health to be stable, we need to set a boundary line for ourselves first before we can reach our goals.
If you have any feedback regarding technology’s negative effects on mental health, please let me know. Whenever you have a query, please let me know, and I will respond as soon as possible.
This was all about “How Technology Affects Mental Health“.
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