Yes, you are addicted!
Technology, we all talk about it a lot. It is important and revolutionary and uplifting our society and ‘blah blah blah’ (quoting Dracula from Hotel Transylvania). Yes, it is the need of the hour and we are supporting it. Let me ask you this, how can you read our blogs? Which medium (pun intended)? The Internet is the medium, laptop/mobile phone is the device, SIM cards are allowing you to do that. All this is technology. We can’t complain about the technology, true, because it is allowing you to learn and expand your horizons, which you possibly couldn’t imagine a few decades ago. Thanks to technology, you are able to read this article, and I am able to spread my opinions.
Describe your day in a few sentences. Does it include waking up, getting ready for work/school/college and along the way listening to some music? Maybe, working on your laptop and taking quick breaks to glance at your mobile screen, replying to the texts or just scrolling through your social media? After coming home, you stream some content while you eat.
Congratulations! You are totally dependent on technology. You can’t work without it, not even for a few hours a day.
Do people memorise numbers anymore? No, they have cell phones for that. From simple things like adding numbers in their minds vs using a calculator for the same. Not walking or cycling a small distance, but using vehicles for commuting. Consider how GPS has changed the way we travel, people don’t know how to read a map anymore. Technology has made us dependent. Our natural instincts are being misused as every time you get a notification your senses are alerted and cortisol is secreted causing you to fool your instincts, consequently, putting you on high alert mode and leading you to stress and anxiety.
I am not sure how many people will survive if technology stops working someday. No, technology is not the problem. The way we use it is. Using it as a tool to make your life easier is okay, but for escaping issues, not so much. Simulation games are fun, too much is making you addicted to it. Offline stores are decreasing, sellers are taking the online routes to cater to larger audiences, playgrounds are empty because children are glued to their smart devices, instead of going out to play. Consequently, leading no place for creativity to develop. Everyone should learn to walk before they run.
‘This dependence has not only made our lives so facilitated, comforted and luxurious, but also lazy, sluggish and somewhat weak and feverish, physically. Though technology proved itself as a friend, facilitator, and comforter, its destructive capabilities in warfare have proved to be more detrimental than constructive. There is no question that such high-tech devices have enriched our lives and made everything easy. So, it is a natural thing for a man to become dependent on technology.‘
Companies like Apple and Google have recognised technology dependence as a serious issue and they have taken measures to combat this problem with monitoring screen time and telling you when you have exceeded your daily limits (you can set it for yourself). Google’s Digital Wellbeing and Apple’s Screen Time gives you a graph about how you are using your phone. They facilitate in curbing phone addiction with tools to quantify how much time you spend on your phone, making this a hard task for the app developers to grab your screen time.
‘Those who are diagnosed with underlying social disorders are likely to experience “nervousness, anxiety, anguish, perspiration and trembling when separated or unable to use their digital devices”. “Mobile phones, tablets or laptops make such individuals feel safer, more confident and less anxious”, writes psychology today. Nomophobic and tech-dependent behaviour can reinforce social anxiety, and empirical treatment is still unknown as this is a relatively new concept. Experts suggest investigating, identifying and treating any underlying mental disorders that may contribute to the dependent behaviours, as the best starting point.
The answer is not to stop using technology altogether, but to limit its usage. It is meant to make your life easier, not to create more psychological complications. Not being true to your organic self leads to dependence on technology. Try disconnecting once in a while and let us know how it feels. We are always here to listen to your feedback. Just hit us up in the comment section below.
