The Harmful Effect of Electronics The average American devotes more than ten hours of their day looking at a screen, and this number is growing. The time Americans spend looking at smartphones, tablets, computers, video games, and televisions are an astonishing amount that adds up to about 70 hours of screen time a week. The amount of screen time an American experiences each day is beginning to have a major effect on the body. The use of electronics notably affects the human brain; especially in children as electronics change the brain not only physically, but chemically as well. The use of technology has great impacts on the brain, especially in children. The amount of time young children spend in front of the screen is almost inescapable, …show more content…
According to CNN, medical student Derek Smith said, “I send 40 emails and 399 text messages, snapped 25 photos, bought two movie tickets, downloaded four songs, watched a full- length film, checked the weather forecast 15 times, shopped at Target, surged the Web 129 minutes and spent 5 ½ hours socializing with friends on Facebook.” This study was over a week of time it has been increasingly common for people to spend this amount of time on electronics. In addition, “evidence from around the world suggests that constant phone use might be fundamentally changing the brain and the way people receive and process information” (Nakaya 25). As people use electronic devices more each day, the brain begins to undergo small changes. Multiple studies have shown shrinkage or loss of tissue volume in the gray matter area of the brain. This part of the brain is where processing occurs. Another part of the brain greatly effected is the frontal lobe. The frontal lobe governs areas such as, planning, organizing, and impulse control. There is a particular concern in these areas of the brain as there is a link to violent behavior and and the depth and quality of personal relationships. Along with damage to the frontal lobe of the brain, there have been studies showing a loss of white matter in the brain. This loss of white matter causes a loss of communication in the brain. This
The first example shows that children are spending too much time on technology. Taylor shows: “Given that a 2009 Kaiser Foundation survey found that children 8-18 yrs. old spend more than 7.5 hour a day in front of non-school related screens, such as, TV, video games, etc.” Taylor demonstrates that these children have less time reading books and doing their assignments. Technology has demonstrably affected children’s intellectual and academic development.
Is technology changing our brains for the better or for the worse? The human brain is a biological masterpiece and is the most advanced organ on the face of the planet. In Richard Restak’s essay “Attention Deficit: The Brain Syndrome of Our Era,” he speaks about how the advancements in technology in this modern era have affected the brain’s habits and functions. Multitasking is requiring the brain to change how it functions, its organizations, and efficiency throughout day-to-day tasks and is also enabling people to do things otherwise not possible. Within the past two decades, the amount of time we spend on using technology has increased by a large amount.
In his book The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Trials, Oliver Sacks accounts some interesting encounters with his patients (or “clients” as he believes is a more respectable term to call them). He has organized his collection of case studies by the neurologic disorder themes of the clients: Losses, Excesses, Transports, and the World of the Simple. The first part of the book is a collection of neurological disorders that Sacks categories as losses, or deficits. He describes their difference from typical deficits, as they originated in the right-hemisphere of the brain rather than left-hemisphere and have not been studied as much.
“When we use our computers and our cellphones all the time, we are always distracted. (Source # 2- Is Google Making Us Stupid? By Nicholas Carr.) Becoming distracted with technology can also have dangerous risks.
Firstly, the human brain is a complex organ that commands a variety of different functions within the human body. One specific function of the human
In the present global world, we are living in the era of advanced technology like computes, smart phones, TV and so on; and I love that. As early day goes by technology is changed. Technology makes things happen so faster. In the article, “Meet your iBrain,” the authors Gary Small and Gigi Vorgan talk about the current explosion of digital technology and how is changing the way we lives, how we communicate, and it is also rapidly and profoundly altering our brains. “Our brain is evolving right now at a speed like never before” Gary and Gigi.
Every time I see a group of people who have their eyes glued to their phones I see how out of hand phone use is getting. One of the top causes of death in teen agers is car crashes, which are sometimes caused by texting and driving. Technology can affect anyone, including adults, such as Kord Campbell who, “has trouble focusing on his family.” I sometimes even notice these tendencies, which are problems focusing on your family and such, although much more mild, in my own dad, which shows it can really happen to
Carr brings up the question of how our minds can be negatively affected by this when he asks, “So what happens to our minds when we allow a single tool such dominion over our own perception and cognition?” While Carr is aware that the smartphone serves a countless number of useful purposes and tasks, he believes we should think deeper about the lesser known effects of our smartphones which people so easily allow to take over their lives. Carr begins his article with statistics, stating that the typical smartphone owner checks on their phone over 80 times a day, which translates to almost 30,000 times a year. He calls smartphones our constant companions, comparing them to teachers, secretaries, confessors, and gurus. In fact, Carr includes a 2015 Gallup survey which found that “more than half of iPhone
Is technology really changing the way our brains function? In “The Shallows” Nicholas Carr, argues technology is affecting the human brain by causing individuals to react abnormally. Having done some research, Carr realizes his lack of concentration due to technology was not unique but quite common. Fellow bloggers who are well known for their work have agreed that the internet has made them less a patient reader. The web encourages users to click and flick through ads that sidetrack people from realizing that their longer reading the articles they started to read.
In the article, "Mental health in the smartphone era" the author, Roger Collier, explains how there are many serious mental health problems arising due to the latest technology that kids use. Van Ameringen, a professor of psychiatry and behavioural neurosciences at McMaster University in Ontario, says that the teens that are addicted to their phones are having more problems focusing in school. After giving a group of students the IAT, Internet Addiction Test, he concluded about 30% suffer from this, but the other 70% only met the criterias for “problematic internet use.” He says that about six hours a day is taken up by video streaming, social media, and messaging. Professor Ameringen explains how about 29% of a teenager’s day is taken up by
Lauren Hale, professor in the department of family, population, and preventative health at Stony Brook University, collaborated with her team at Stony Brook University to study the effects of screen time in children. This study focused on exploring the differences between passive and interactive screen time. However, the study showed no significant differences between the effects of interactive versus passive screen time. Thus, the article concludes that all forms of screen time should be limited. This article will be helpful in supporting the thesis, because it denies one of the common fallacies that screen time can be categorized into positive and negative types of screen time, arguing instead that all forms of screen time should be limited and treated with caution.
The current study is the effects of exposure to technology on young children. As we become increasingly more reliant and absorbed in technology, it is no surprise that today’s children have become avid users as well (Hatch, 2011). Children at the age of three or four already have tablets, smart phones, and others; they could easily attain technologies and would even demand for one. As it makes easier for us, technology has both positive and negative impacts especially on young children. It comes with great opportunities but these opportunities likewise come with great risk
Technology and new innovations are welcome in the society of the twenty-first century. Technology is advancing every year, and it is being integrated into everyone’s daily life. Technology like smartphones, computers, smartwatches, smart glasses, smart tv’s, and game consoles are being incorporated into people’s homes, jobs, education, transportation, and medicine. Technology makes it easier for people to communicate effortlessly over long distances. People have the ability to search for an abundance of information at their fingertips.
For some people different stroke effects are mild and last a short time whereas some other strokes may cause more severe or lasting disability. The right half of the brain controls the left side of the body and vice versa. For most people, the left side of the brain controls language. The right side controls perceptual skills and spatial skills. 73% of stroke survivors lack confidence.
Technology: A Distraction in Life New modern life circled with technology gadgets. Technology has been progressing quickly which has become an important part in our lives which is harmful for our body. Many people have been using these stuff to communicate with each other, play games, listen to music, or discover a new culture. However, it may also have some positive impact in which it can help students in their daily life to get some information out of the internet to solve their homework or other things. For example, adults use these instruments at work and students at school.