What are some health concerns related to the excessive use of technology?

Q. What are some health concerns related to the excessive use of technology?

Answer =

Although technology has improved our lives enormously yet it should be used in moderate amounts. Excessive use of technology, such as smart phones, computers, online gaming, social media etc. leads to many health related problems. In the following lines we are discussing major health concerns related to excessive technology usage:

1. Impact on Hearing: - Studies have proven that listening to music that loud for more than 15 minutes cause hearing damage over time. Also, it has been said that using headphones increases the bacteria levels in your ears over 700 times when used for more than an hour. This shocking statistic came from a study way back in 1992 when experts measured bacteria on 20 headsets.

2. Impact on Bones and Joints: - Use of technology has affected our postures. Most of the times, we sit in the same postures and make similar, repetitive movements, e.g., thumb movements on mobile phones. Slouching, or using your joints and muscles in repetitive movements all cause strain on our muscles and joints. A Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) is an injury or disorder of the muscles, nerves, tendons, ligaments and joints.

3. Eye Problems: - Constant exposure to smart phone, laptops and computer screens impacts our vision and may lead to other eye related problems. The blue light that comes from our phones and computers is very damaging on the retina, even more than UV light; this may even lead to vision loss. Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS) is a technology related health condition affecting eyesight.

4. Sleep Issues: - Excessive smartphone, computer and tablet use can disrupt our sleep. Bright lights from these devices block melatonin secretion, the hormone that regulates sleep and this leads to smaller sleep cycles and disrupted sleep. Sleep is so essential for overall health that it impacts our normal thinking and behavioral patterns, memory and attention span.

5. Mental Health Issues: - Excessive use of technology leads to isolation as people don't get time to physically socialize. It sometimes also leads to anxiety and depression as by looking at picture perfect social media profile of others, people often tend to think that their "connections" have "perfect rosy lives" while they are not.
Excessive use of technology and Internet leads to addiction. People keep obsessively looking through emails and messages. They start feeling stress if they don't get some likes or replies on their posts etc. This problem is formally termed as Internet addiction disorder.