Addiction is not only the use of any sort of mind malfunctioning substances. It is the state of mind when you forget your surroundings and cut off your social interactions as a result of over business with an activity. You are addicted, if you overlook to notice the passage of time as a result of your business. We are living in a digitalized world where our minutes of life have got technology dependent. The modern technologies such as internet, computer and cellular phones have faded away the state of mind as a member of a society.
A piece of device such as a computer and cellular phone has replaced most of relationships such as friendship and even has affected family interaction so much that most of the times we prefer roaming around on Facebook and Twitter rather than giving time to our family.
We are living in a leading world of technology in which the universe has turned to appear more like a colony. Living in such an era, it is difficult to be away from technology and using technology has turned to a basic necessity of daily life. It is fine to be with technology and use it, but the over use of technology can be harmful.
For example, technology addiction terribly affects the young pupils' learning and research skills. The modern gadgets worsen pupils' spelling and encourage them for plagiarism. According to the statistic report published in BBC News Education Story which was derived from a research paper "Techno Addicts: Young Person Addiction to Technology" done by researchers at Cranfield University in which they have conducted around 267 secondary pupils a written questionnaire about their mobile phone and internet use, "about 63% felt addiction to the internet and 53% felt addicted to their mobile phones." The report has clearly headlined that "Tech Addiction Harms Learning."
The report further details the claim in reference to Techno Addiction: Young Person Addiction to Technology, 24 page of research paper done by Nadia and Andrew Kakabadse at Cranfield University, "62% first used or owned a computer before the age of eight, 80% first used the internet between the ages of five and 10, 58% first used a mobile phone between the ages of eight and 10 and 58% have had access to a social networking sites between the ages of eleven and 13. Over half (53.2%) indicated they spent up to around 30 minutes a day on their mobile, while 17% said they spent at least three hours on their mobile.
Just over one in five (20.2%) said they left the phone on in lessons - which is usually forbidden by schools." Considering the report statistics, the over use of technology by the young pupils is a negative warning for the future of quality education, because they spend most of their useful time roaming around on the internet with social media rather than paying attention on their studies and assignments.
Technology, along being harmful to daily life schedule, has been proved to be dangerous for health as well. "Those who spend more time texting than talking to their surroundings, it is possible that they do the same even when they are sleeping," claimed by Dr. David Cunnington – an Autralian Sleep Expert.
In addition, Lady Greenfield, one of the Britain's most prominent female scientists claims over the same issue, "Society should be aware of the potential harmful effects of the internet, networking sites and computer games on the brain. The over use of technology should be considered as importantly as the climate change. I think the quality of our existence is threatened."
Keeping in mind the statements of health experts, let's disclose some more side effects of the modern technology in support to their claims of technology as the source of certain disease. 1. Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity – we are surrounded by different types of electro-magnetic waves such as wireless communication waves and electric waves that cause the symptoms that range from acute headaches, skin burning to muscle twitching and chronic pain. 2. Depression – "Social networks such as Facebook and Twitter can result to mental health, sleep patterns and level of self-esteem," claimed by American Academy of Paediatics.
Moreover, the organization claims that youngsters who are ignored on social networking sites take it harder than they are shunned in real life. 3. Repetitive Strain Injury – This side affect usually was a type of risk for factory workers, dressmakers and musicians, but recently the symptoms are conceived that the office worker are also suffering this illness after spending countless hours on keyboard. The three mentioned examples of side effects are the very basic causes of technology over use, but there are many more that are not possible to summarize within one essay.
Technology addiction is similar to drug addiction. Researchers in University of Maryland in a research study titled as "The World Unplugged" have found that four in five students are suffering mental distress, panic and confusion when they are forced to unplug from ethnology for an entire day. Being away from technology seems to be as difficult as to be away from drug for a drug addicted person.
According to study done by the University of Maryland where 1000 university students from 12 universities were interviewed. All the interviewees have admitted of being unable to voluntarily avoid their devices for an entire day. They confessed of being their gadget such as laptop, mobile phone and smart-phone addicted. They are depressed and panic while being unplugged from technology.
Finally, we spend hours of our useful time roaming around on the internet without noticing the passage of time. We spend hours of texting with friends and relatives on the net and via cellular phones. We spend thousands for making call. We spend thousands just to update our day to day in hand technology. These are all because we are addicted to do so that is out of our control and being practiced inadvertently.