8 Severe Impacts Digitalization has on Health!

Digitalization has made a drastic revolution in the world, it has evolved humans from primates to one of the few highly intellectual creations today. There is no denying that digitalization has led to a significant increase in productivity and efficiency in every sector of the market. It has led to a dynamic innovation that allows it to be more aware of new trends and the possibilities offered by new technologies at reduced costs.

Now we have various fascinating electronic gadgets like mobile phones, laptops, Fitbits, Smart watches, sensors etc. these were made to make our lives easier but we are so highly addicted to it that they have started controlling our day to day activities. We have grown dependent on these gadgets eliminating physical hardships from our lives thus making ourselves lazy and inactive in many ways.

So what is the downside of Technology on our health?

Here is the list of 8 major problems you could be facing if you have an online addiction or are in constant touch with your favourite wearables.

1. Neck strain: Due to extensive usage of smartphones, tablets, laptops many individuals are visiting doctors due to strains on neck also called as “Tech Neck” which occurs due to constantly focusing in one direction without frequent movements in it. Laptops create especially poor posture for the neck, as users tend to hunch down to look at them. This tech neck pain serves as a host for various other health concerns as this head-forward position leads to upper-back pain and muscle pain too.
2. Strained Vision: No doubtedly, eyes suffer the most in this digital revolution. Blue lights which emits from the tech gadgets cause digital eye strain resulting in dry eyes, blurry-vision and headaches too. These blue lights or High-energy-visible (HEV) lights are proved to go far deeper into the eyes than the normal light. It may result in migraines which is highly uncomfortable.
3. Mental health: Technology severely impacts mental conditions such as anxiety and depression in individuals. For people who are addicted to the internet, it lacks peace of mind to them. Excessive use of social media leads to decrease in happiness and overall life satisfaction as per the study done at the University of Michigan, ultimately causing mental stress.
4. Stress: Various social media posts brings anxiousness in many of us, keeping us stressed all the time. On an average a smartphone user unlocks phones 85 times a day because of the constant beeping, flashing and vibration due to the notifications. A smartphone is used for minimum 5 hours each day by every user resulting in constant distraction and unable to focus completely in this duration. It also results in poor cognitive skills such as attention, learning and memory.
5. Sedentary lifestyle: As technology has brought the whole world on our finger-tips we seldom have time for physical activity and thus live a sedentary lifestyle which is highly problematic.  Physical inactivity is the one of the leading cause of death worldwide.
6. Sleep deprivation: As per a study in UK, mobile phones and bed are a wrong combination. Use of mobile phones for longer hours during bed time reduces your sleeping hours. Widespread internet access results in sleep deprivation and is the root cause of other major problems.
7. Failing Memory: People who rely heavily on technology may suffer from problems such as improper brain functioning, short term memory dysfunction, etc. It creates harmful impact on the problem-solving and learning skills of the brain aswell. Internet is slowing down our thinking speed and reducing our memory-span.
8. Hearing Loss: Earbuds can take a toll on your ears. It can cause hearing loss and tinnitus (ringing in the ears), the inner hair cells in the ear will never grow back once they are damaged. Loud sound can cause damage even moderate sound on a regular basis can cause severe damage to your ears.  

Conclusion:

Neither can we stay fit and healthy till our 90’s. Innovations will continue taking place and new devices will continue rocking the market but the answer to this depends on our ability to manage and control our dependency on these devices. It isn’t bad to enjoy these “in trend” sources but we need to limit ourselves to avoid its ill-effects.