Today, it's almost impossible to get by without a phone or computer. Many jobs are primarily digital now, and the use of technology is required to be successful. While innovations in technology are greatly beneficial to us, there are also some disadvantages of staring at a screen all day. Within the past several years, the gadgets we use daily have been found to cause both physical and mental maladies.
Some physical health problems caused by technology:
Mental health ailments from overuse of technology:
- Metabolic diseases: Obesity, cardiac problems, cancer; using a computer for work requires hours of sitting in one position without moving. Sitting still for this long can lead to serious long-term problems because your blood is flowing correctly through your body.
- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: When fingers or hands are overused, they can become tingling and painful. It is caused by too much pressure on the nerve in the wrist. It comes with too much mouse movement and keyboard typing.
- "Text Neck": The excruciating paint pain at the back of the neck and upper back from too much texting.
- Deep vein thrombosis: Previously experienced primarily by airline travelers, DVT is the dangerous clotting of blood in veins of the limbs from lack of movement.
- Computer vision syndrome: Caused by staring upblinkingly at glowing screens, symptoms include dry eyes, blurred/double vision, red eyes, irritated eyes and headache.
- Rickets, or "Victorian Disease": A vitamin D deficiency due to underexposure to sunlight. Kids and adults are spending less time outside because they spend a majority of their time on the computer inside.
Mental health ailments from overuse of technology:
- Phantom-vibration-syndrome: Since we almost constantly have our phones in our pockets or purses, and we feel them vibrating all day long, we get used to that feeling even when the phone isn't there. PVS is the perception that ones mobile phone is vibrating or ringing when it is not.
- Nomophobia: A combination of the phrase "no mobile phobia," homophobia has become quite popular. It is the anxiety of being out of mobile phone contact. People have grown so used to having a device to keep them occupied and in touch that they fear they won't know how to behave without one.
- Cyberchondria: The easy access to medical information online causes people worry when it comes to their health. Cyberchrondria is hypochondria caused by the Internet.
- Insomnia: There is a connection between screen time and sleep quality. More screen time=poor sleep quality.
- Internet Addiction Disorder: Not only does tech addiction severely impact your mental state, but it can contribute to physical problems. Long-term internet addiction results in alterations in the brain structure.