Does Technology Have Negative Effects?

Photo by rawpixel.com on Pexels.comTeens are spending more time consuming media, on mobile devicesElectronic devices may keep teen from sleeping

Technology plays a vital role in our daily lives. Almost everyone has at least one electronic device and people use them all the time. Studies have shown that people spend more than 5 hours on their phones or laptops every day. Teenagers and children use their electronic device for more than 3 hours a day. When people read these data, they start to ask questions like “Does electronic device have a negative effect on children?” “Should I set limit time for an electronic device using?”. I believe that technology has a negative effect on children in different aspects: health and social relationships.

I believe technology has a negative effect on our health. Using an electronic device for a long time can damage our eye visions. When we use our phones or laptops, our eyes stay focused on the screen and if we use our eyes too long, our eyes will feel dry and tired of staring at screens. Electronic devices may also keep people from sleeping. Many people use their phone before going to sleep and it sometimes makes people feel awake and continue to play on their phones instead of going to bed. Sometimes I spend too much time on my phone and can’t finish my homework on time, so I have to stay up late to finish my homework. We all know that sleep deficiency is bad for our health. Sleep deficiency can decrease our concentration on our work or class and it can also affect our mood negatively. In the CBS news article titled “Electronic devices may keep teens from sleeping”, it talks about the research on 10,000 teens from 16 to 19 who were asked how much screen time they got and the amount and quality of their sleep. The research found out that “daytime screen use of more than 4 hours was associated with a 49 percent higher risk of taking longer than 60 minutes to fall asleep”. People may argue that they are having fun and relax when they play video games or watch movies. However, sleep relaxes your whole body and also your brain even though you may not feel it. And sleep is really important for our lives and also makes our body function.
Technology can also affect our relationships. More and more people talk to other people through texts on their phones more than they talk to them in real life. One time I went to a party and many people were on their phones instead of talking to the people that are sitting right next to them. People need to communicate and be there for each other in real life instead of just sending a text. An article from the Washington Post stated that “some experts say they worry that teens spend so much interacting with each other on social networks and phones that they are growing less comfortable with in-person interactions and not developing essential social skills”. One kid even said that looking at a phone is way easier than looking someone in their eyes. Other people may argue that technology has a positive effect as well. People can communicate even though they are really far away when they are not together. This is true, but people communicate better when they talk in real life.

Overall, I believe that technology has negative effects on our lives. Think about this, you don’t want to find out you have a heart problem because of staying up too late to play on your phones. And you will regret if you did not control screentime for your kids and they have issues to communicate with others.