To What Extent Is The Developement Of New Technologies Having A Negative Effect?

Technology has incorporated itself into daily human life. Technology has made humans so dependent on it that we feel paralysed without it. However, technological advancement has come at a cost. New technologies seem to have an adverse effect on human health. The negative impact of technology is not only limited to our physical, social and mental health but also to the environment.

Some of the negative effects of technology

1. Alienation
   Lack of contact in physical world creates alienation. With technology, people have started engaging themselves on social media which creates a rift between real and reel life. I-pods and music players have further widened the rift and made people walk around in their own world.
2. Obesity
   The more time that people spend online, the more they sit in one place doing nothing. No physical work or labour is carried out which causes people becoming lazy. Spending time online, watching YouTube videos, chatting etc make people sit at one place and not walk. With less physical exercises and unhealthy eating habits, people tend to gain more weight and become obese.
3. Poor sleeping habits
   Online activities get so addictive that it hampers sleep. People stay up till late and brains overwork. The glow from the computer screens affects release of melatonin (sleep-inducing chemical). Lack of insufficient sleep can cause various health-related problems.
4. Depression
   One of the major causes of depression is social media. Lack of human contact, lack of exercise, overeating, alienation etc causes depression. People post their happiness online and over-exaggerated posts are written. That makes a person feel inferior and depressed.
5. Lack of privacy
   Confidential data has no longer remained sensitive. The internet allows people to gather information about someone with some click on keyboards. Phishing, viruses and hacking can steal data and serve it to malicious people. Location data, phone numbers, family background etc are all easily found.
6. Lack of social and sexual boundaries
   People tend to cross boundaries which give rise to cyberstalking. Exposure to sexual content happens way too soon with technology. Filters work but not as effectively as they should. The result is exposure to violent, sexual, graphic or aggressive content unsuitable for certain ages. For instance, technology is being adversely used for sexting where a girl clicks her semi-nude pictures and sends it to the guy. However, this can lead to viruses or use of the picture in a malicious way.
7. Low attention span due to addiction
   The attention span reduces due to constant distraction by various technologies. It leads to addiction leading to lack of empathy.