Your Brain on Tech (Negative Effects of Tech)

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Your Brain on Tech (Negative Effects of Tech)

Introduction

Over the past few years, there have been significant technological inventions and developments. Through technologies, people have been able to perform action that they were initially not able to do. The rapid pace in technological development has continued to open many opportunities for advancements of other sectors such as communication and transportation. Technologies have been incorporated into many aspects of daily human lives. For example, assistive technologies have been introduced to help people with disability perform their daily activities with little difficulty. However, it is also important to note that technological advancements have come along with disadvantages. Physical and psychological problems associated with the usage of technologies have affected millions of people. Examples of technological evils that have affected the brains of users include increased dependency, pornography, reduced communication and socialization, brain cancer and Creutzfeldt – Jakob.

Psychological Effects

Dependency on technologies increases as users continue to use them more frequently to conduct their daily lives. Just like addiction to drugs and substance abuse, humans have been addicted to technologies to the event that they are not able to conduct their daily lives without using them. For example, the introduction of smart homes has influenced the way families to carryout themselves in their houses. In the event that these technologies failed to function correctly due to factors such as power blackouts, then users will have difficulty in operating their activities without assistive technologies. Cerra, Easterwood and Power argue that overdependence on technologies has drastically affected the critical thinking of human beings, especially among students (15). They claim that students have concentrated on ‘social technology’ as opposed to ‘comprehension technology’ and as a result, there has been a decline in their higher-thinking skills (Cerra, Easterwood and Power 15).

The second negative impact of technology on human brains is pornography. Through the internet and other computer devices such as DVDs, people are able to access, distribute or store pornographic materials. Adult rated pictures, videos and texts have been regarded as immoral due to their psychological impacts on viewers, especially minors. Digital pornographic promote addiction to adult rated materials, masturbation and increased sexual activity. In turn, the general society is affected because people addicted to pornography may portray unethical conducts such as rape and idling. In addition, addiction to pornography affects the way people associate with their partners. According to Gallop, people addicted to pornography expect their sexual partners to behave the same way as the actors in adult rated movies (5).

The third negative psychological impact caused by technology on human brain is decreased communication and socialization. Due to technological advancements, people are able to overcome distance barriers through emails, phone calls, and other social websites. People have reduced the number of physical meetings where they can engage in face-to-face interactions. According to Haddon, technologies have promoted solitary, individualism and time wastage (76). People spend a lot of time engaging in online communication at the cost of the time they would have spent on face-to-face interaction (Haddon 76). Furthermore, technological usage, especially among kids, has substitute outdoor games with computer games. As a result, they barely socialize with friends outside the house. Apart from reducing the level of socialization, most computer games have promoted violence. This is because the actions performed by gamers are influenced by the scenes implanted in their brains while playing the games.

Physical Effects

Research has identified that the use of certain technological devices might lead to brain cancer. Radiofrequencies produced by technological devices such as cell phones, body scans and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can be classified as ionizing and non-ionizing frequencies (Yarbro, Goodman and Frogge 55). Examples of these electromagnetic radiations include x-rays, radon and cosmic rays. Even though it is advisable to avoid exposure to the electromagnetic radiations emitted by technological devices, several of these appliances are easily available in the public. For example, due to the high dependency on telecommunication boosters and mobile devise, it will be very difficult for people to avoid such devices even if they were willing to do so. The second negative physical impact of technology on the brains of users is Creutzfeldt – Jakob disease. It has been proven that Creutzfeldt – Jakob is introduced into a patient’s brain during neurosurgery. It might be caused by inappropriate sterilization or allergy by a patient to a specific drug, such as anesthesia, used during brain surgery.

Conclusion

Despite their numerous advantages, technologies also come along with evils that affect its users. The effects are either psychological or physical. Negative psychological impacts arising from the usage of technology, can be treated thorough counseling. Conversely, physical effects can be treated through medication and surgeries. As technological researchers intensify their work and focus on improving the capability of devices, they should also aim at reducing the negative impacts of these appliances. However, some impacts, such as pornography, will require the involvement of several stakeholders. Governments, internet service providers, owners of cyber shops, film producers and internet users have to collaborate and identify solutions to these psychological problems.

Work Cited

Cerra, Allison, Kevin Easterwood, and Jerry Power. Transforming Business: Big Data, Mobility, and Globalization. Indianapolis, IN: Wiley, 2013. Print.

Gallop, Cindy. Make Love Not Porn: Technology’s Hardcore Impact on Human Behavior. New York: Ted Conferences, 2011. Print.

Haddon, Leslie. Information and Communication Technologies in Everyday Life: A Concise Introduction and Research Guide. Oxford: Berg, 2004. Print.

Yarbro, Connie H, Michelle Goodman, and Margaret H. Frogge. Cancer Nursing: Principles and Practice. Sudbury, Mass: Jones and Bartlett Publishers, 2005. Print.