ARE WE TOO DEPENDENT ON TECHNOLOGY?

Welcome to the STRUGZ platform where life principles, careers, and business tips are shared. This week’s edition is a question that we all ask ourselves and don't find the right answers to.

I was having a funny conversation with my grandma last Christmas when she was insistent on giving me a full history of how communication was in her days. she talked on and on about 'videotelephony' being our new 'live video', I didn't believe till I looked it up on google cause her description sounded over-exaggerated to me, I was like, “How?”

With today’s technology getting more and more advanced with each day that passes, it’s important to take a step back and reflect on where we are as a society now, and whether our increasing dependence on modern technology is doing more good than harm.

I for one always have my phone with me because, I ‘NEED’ it to run my day, at least that is how I have programmed my mind to think, even if it’s partially true. But then came COVID and I realized there were a million things I didn’t know about myself and inner strength, not to mention the people I care about. I had become so engrossed in it, it almost crippled my mind and brought limitations to me, for me. Still, I needed and need this new age development called technology.

For example, a study made by the Oxford Internet Institute revealed that there is both something and also, nothing inherently wrong with gamers that are obsessed with playing video games. The study revealed that rather than technology being negatively impacted by the games, the players use them as a way to escape from frustrations and other psychosocial functioning issues. In hindsight, gamers get so addicted that losing a game can cause a fit and make them suicidal. The worst part is the influence of communication between total strangers gaming all over the world, which oftentimes, creates room for kids/teenagers to form friendships and trust with total strangers and cybercriminals.

To that end, a study made by experts in Canada also revealed that unlike social media (which is largely linked to the rise in loneliness and mass anxiety), video games make people happy. Why do we adults have to be on-screen at night when we have kids or teenagers at home? Why do teenagers or kids have to be on-screen at night? ADDICTION!

Technology is cool and it helps us in our daily life but when we rely so much on the privileges or advantages of these technologies, we abuse it and lose focus of important things that are staring at us daily, did I mention we lose sleep and wake up looking and feeling like the older version of our present self?

Of course, both adults and kids can still develop some bad habits if left unchecked, such as spending limitless hours just scrolling through social media feeds and the like, which can disrupt lives.

It seems that rather than influence our life, technology has simply become a part of life itself. The reality is that technology is not going away. But rather than assessing whether this digital uprising is a positive or negative thing, we should embrace and acknowledge both sides of the coin while keeping our eyes peeled for the latest and greatest advancements and how it helps our present reality.