Is technology being abused by humans? Today, technology has advanced to a point where it has affected humans physically, mentally, and socially. Humans depend on technology, which brings up the debate if technology has made us lazy.
To begin with, so many humans are physically out of shape because they decided to rely more on technology. Technology has put us humans in a place where it is easy to just pull up Google and research whatever is needed. Compared to when I was younger and technology was not as advanced and people needed to go to the library to do research. Food deliveries have become so convenient that you can order just about anything from your couch which does not involve exercise. I remember when we had to order our food and go pick it up. Nowadays you can order food from an app and someone working for that specific service brings you your food right to the door instead of you getting up and getting it yourself. Some of my friends with cars will not even walk two blocks to the store because they are so used to getting in their car and driving, but will complain that they can not lose weight. Children play with gaming systems all day and do not realize they are not getting the proper sleep, exercise, or develop bad eating habits. Abusing technology can cause vision problems, hearing loss, and neck strains.
In addition, advanced technology has a big impact on the human body health wise. According to the American Heart Association, they suggest that three or more hours of television a day can double a humans risk of premature death. Mental health issues that can be caused by technology include narcissism, depression, and distraction. A study conducted by the University of Western Illinois to see the relationship between two aspects of narcissism, grandios exhititonism and entitlement/exploitativeness. The result to those who scored high testing for gradios exhititonism tended to use social media to promote themselves, constantly updating their information. While ones tested for entitlement/exploitativeness reacted to social media in an angirly way but defending their close family and friends (DigitalResponsibility). Professor Robinson of California State University did a study with high school students to determine how technology affected their studies. Eventually he discovered that it only takes 3 minutes for a high-school student to get distracted by technology(Liz Soltan). Another study conducted by Chinese youth involved in internet addiction disorder group that the results showed internet addiction causes key areas of the brain to reduce gray and white matter.
One may object here that technology helps communication by enabling instant contact. Gamers use technology to communicate and travel to other countries to meet and play against other players. Also arguing that technology is efficient, saves time, and increases the time of any activity making things easier and faster. Robots have been talked about for the future replacing us humans. Robots are not programmed to have emotions so therefore can not be affected physically, mentally, or socially. These objections by humans about technology leave humans any place where they have abused technology.
Furthermore, technology can damage human socially if not used correctly. A study by Stanford researchers was conducted on girls years 8 to 12 that spend time using social media and the researchers reported that it produces lower self-esteem and difficulty socializing compared to less driven peers (Liz Soltan). Face-to-face socializing is a very important social skill, which humans do not realize they need. Isolation is a big factor when it comes to using technology.
In conclusion the abuse of technology is what makes humans suffer physically, mentally, and socially. Technology has not made humans lazy, but because us as humans depend on it so much we are making ourselves lazy. When limited the use of technology it will give you the space and time to explore the world in a way you can not if you are just sitting around.
