[Republished here by permission of the authors from their “Lifestyle Tips for Over 50s,” affiliated with their website “Passionate Retirees,” January 2, 2019.]
The human brain is susceptible to the detrimental effects of the devices to which we have become accustomed. There is no doubt that technology is affecting us in ways that we didn’t foresee 20 years ago, and the most troubling effect is what is happening to children. Surveys reveal that teenagers spend an average of 7.5 hours a day online and even kids under eight are now spending at least two hours on a device. Do you think this is healthy? Coincidentally, during this period the suicide rate among teenagers has increased to record levels.
Let’s take a tour down memory lane. In many countries, commercial TV didn’t come in until the 1950s, with black and white screens and low resolution, so there wasn’t a lot of stimulation. Then we progressed to colour television, but still, as children, we spent a lot of time outdoors playing sports, and we interacted with other children. We then progressed to mobile phones, which morphed into smartphones, tablets, and their derivations.
Today we are assaulting our sense, whether it’s Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. In many cases, our relationships are impersonal – with machines, not with people. Go outside in any major city or town and see where people are focused; heads down with thumbs working away on a device. Such is the world of today. We may say that is progress, but at what cost? The addictive qualities of technology is a concern for everyone, but with children we may be soon be reaching a crisis point.
The neuroplastic human brain is malleable and adaptable to whatever we feed into it, and because the minds of children – including teenagers – are not fully developed, the effect of technology has adverse effects. It is changing us in ways we never foresaw. It’s interesting that many executives in Silicon Valley are sending their children to tech-free schools and are limiting use of devices in their own homes. They know the addictive qualities of the technology.
Some of the detrimental effects of the online world today are:
- Loneliness
- Depression
- Lowering of I.Q.
- Inability to Focus
- Increase in ADHD
- Missing school
- Aggression and violence
- Lower social skills
- Broken relationships
- Neck and back problems
- Increased risk of suicide
Setting boundaries is essential. Limit use of a device to a set time of day and for a certain length of time, and be firm. Parents will often cop out and give in, but doing so can result in life-devastating effects if a child becomes addicted to technology. When children do homework, they should do it free of devices, or if they need to use a computer, restrict internet usage. It’s not unheard of for children to supposedly be doing homework, but actually be spending their time surfing the web and chatting with mates on Facebook or Instagram. Don’t let children manipulate you with “My friends all have one.” That’s an age-old con.
There’s no doubt that technology has made massive changes in our lives, many to our benefit, and it’s unrealistic to manage without it today. So it’s not going away, but we must modify our behaviour so we don’t lose sight of our humanity in the process.
| Copyright © 2019 by Dr. Ely Lazar & Dr. Adele Thomas Ely Lazar, B.Sc., D.C., is a part-time chiropractor and Adele Thomas, M.D., is a family practitioner. They are based near Perth, Western Australia. |
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