Technology linked with Insomnia?

Insomnia has become a more prominent problem in society in recent years, and many say technology is to blame. More specifically, interactive technology like your smartphones or laptop. The National Sleep Foundation’s annual sleep survey found 95 percent of Americans go to sleep with their technology, and this has been proven to lead to insomnia and reduce overall sleep. Around 41 million people in the U.S. get six or less hours of sleep every night, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, largely because of how embedded technology has become in our daily routines. These devices stimulate our brains right before we need to shut them off for sleep. The artificial lights for things like laptop and smartphone screens promote brain chemicals like melatonin. When melatonin levels are altered, we experience sleep disturbances.

The rising rate of Insomnia is dangerous for society because it means younger people are getting less sleep and losing productivity in their day to day lives. The level of efficiency is dropped tremendously when a person gets fewer than 6 hours of sleep today. Students are mostly effected, and it can ultimately affect their performance in school. The only way to solve this problem is limit the use of technology before bed and have all electronic devices turned off while we sleep. In order to get more sleep, we must eliminate all the distractions available to us. The internet is a huge one, and the amount of interaction available online is enormous, and it is a huge distraction.

It is no surprise that the rate of Insomnia has risen in the past few years, as it directly correlates with the rise of technology. People are getting less and less sleep, and it is becoming a problem in society. Throughout this blog we have looked at all the negative effects of technology on our lives, but never has their been one so direct as this. Although smartphones and laptops may offer us possibilities we never thought of before, it still dramatically affects our lives for the worse.

The Rise of Violence in Society: Is Technology to Blame?

http://ithp.org/articles/violentvideogames.html


          This article, written by numerous University professors, states how technology has a negative effect on our society, more specifically in regards to video games and its correlation with violence. Video games are a popular form of technology that began to rise during the 1970's. Modern day video games are sophisticated and extremely advanced, with capabilities that were unheard of even a decade ago. With this, video games have gotten excessively more violent and realistic through the last few years. Video games series like "Grand Theft Auto" for example encourage radically violent behaviour whether it is fist to fist combat or a shoot out. Video games of this generation have players deeply rooted in the game and story-lines have become increasingly complex. The violence is far more meaningful now in games and this article is agreeing with this statement, claiming how it affects us more that we believe.


          Through over 130 studies, with over 130,000 participants, the studies prove that violent video games increase aggressive thoughts and behaviour. The article uses many statistics claiming that the news statistics over violent video games is completely off what the scientific studies suggest. Science proves that violent video games directly influence violent behaviour and that it affects us without us even being aware of it. It is also more harmful than any other form of technology. With a television show or movie, you are simply watching the screen and watching the violence occur in front of you. With a video game, you control your destiny, and you play an active role in the violence that is occurring. Scientists believe this desensitizes you to violence and makes real life violence seem like a less bigger deal to you than it once was thanks to these sort of video games.


          Violence is rising in society, and statistics all around the world can help prove this. Society is becoming more aggressive, and many people are looking for answers. The answer that makes the most sense seems to be the rise of violence in technology. Besides video games, television is constantly becoming more violent for shock-value. If you compare an action show from the 1960s to the present day, you will see a clear rise in violence and realism. Every year, the bar is raised on what is considered shocking and television must catch up. These are television programs our youth are watching, and they are easily influenced by it. The media has also been responsible, as it is desensitizing us to violence with the amount of it out in the open. Next time we should think twice before we believe technology has no violent effects on us.

Technology: The Bullying Age

                 This discussion done by a panel for an NBC morning news program highlights the issue of technology and bullying. There is no doubt that bullying has been a massive issue in society for many years, but over time, it has begun to change. This change is mainly due to the advancement in technology and the use of social networks and cell phones. With the new age of technology, bullying has become far more easy and the definition of bullying has expanded. The modern age of bullying is no longer just physically assaulting someone, but involves a whole array of things. Virtual bullying follows you and sticks with you, and the psychological effect it has on an individual is detrimental.


                  Bullying has never been as rampant as it is today. Children of younger and younger ages are being involved in bullying and it is because of social networks making it an easy task. Kids feel no sense empathy if there is a screen in front of them, and they don't believe what they are doing is as severe as it really is. When online bullying happens, it is often stuck with the child for life, especially when it involved photos. Anything posted online is online forever, and it will effect people for as long as they live. More and more teenagers are taking their own lives because of online bullying and it is a problem that has never been around in society in the past. The cruelty of the bullying has also risen, and it has become far more personal than it once was. It is also easier to do because there is not as high as a fear of getting caught than there is if you bully someone in person.


                  In recent years, the amount of activity on social networks has risen tremendously, especially with young people. Websites like Facebook and Twitter are in constant use by school children and it is an open space for bullying. Harassment is frequent, and it can happen in mass numbers if it is online. With the use of smartphones, this harassment and bullying follows the children everywhere they go and there is no escaping it. In order to prevent this sort of bullying, parents must be more strict with their control over their children and social networks. Parents are also advised not to introduce this sort of technology into their kids lives at an early age. Technology can do a lot, but it certainly has had a major negative effect on the children of this generation and causes psychological harm beyond words.

The Negative Effect of Technology on Academics

“We found women who spend more time using some forms of media report fewer academic behaviors, such as completing homework and attending class, lower academic confidence and more problems affecting their school work, like lack of sleep and substance use,” said Walsh.

This quote in an article called "Social Media Linked to Poor Academic Performance" explains that there is a connection between the amount of technology particularly media that one uses, and on how well one does in school. 

Technology has made it easier and more accessible to learn new things. Modern technology is changing our education system very quickly. For example, as technology has advanced, teachers have more tools such as smart boards to increase the learning in the classrooms. But has technology also prevented us from doing school work? Do we stay awake late at nights scrolling on our phones instead of getting sleep? Do we spend long hours chatting on Facebook and tweeting on Twitter instead of doing homework? Most students would answer yes to these questions because the truth is, our phones and computers are more addicting than homework.Of course if you spend less time on your homework and more time watching television, playing video games, scrolling the internet or texting, then you will see your grade point average going down. Less time is being spent on studies and more time with technology.

Technology doesn't only distract us at home but at school as well. The teacher is talking and the student is on their phone. Then, the student misses what their teacher has taught in class, making it difficult to do homework and therefore, finding it difficult to keep their marks up. According to a survey (on the right), "31 % of teens who take their phones to school send text messages every day during class time." This means 31 % of students spend time on their phone instead of paying attention to their learning.

As a student, I am guilty of these bad habits as well. I go on the computer to look something up and instead I find myself on Facebook. It's best to just turn off your phone and laptops when doing school work. You'll find yourself getting more sleep and better grades. Don't get distracted by technology! It's useful for learning things but you could find yourself using it for hours instead of focusing on your academics and education.

The negative effect of driving and texting: Has technology become primary to safety?

"Over 100, 000 accidents a year involve drivers who are texting"

    This statistic showcased in filmmaker Werner Herzog's documentary titled, " From One Second to the Next," presents the danger of texting while driving. Imagine 100,000 families a year losing loved ones due to a hand-held technological device the driver couldn't keep their hands off for the time of driving.

Many technology users are on their phone while driving. This takes away their attention, focus and gaze from the road which makes them more in risk of getting into an accident.

Herzog documents many stories of victims and perpetrators including Aurie who was walking with her little brother Xzavier one October day when a lady was speeding and ran the stop sign because she was texting.The next second, Xzavier was gone from Aurie's hands. Another story captured, was a man who killed 3 Omish people while texting. He describes the guilt and hatred he feels for himself for what he did. Many families like Xzaviers and Chandler's have been affected by accidents caused by texting and driving.

Once, something happens, you can never take it back. That one second you took to text someone, could take your life or many other people's lives.  "It's life. You get one chance and you live with the choices you make,"-Chandler Gerber. Don't be that person to make that mistake because it will be one you regret your whole life if you are fortunate to live.

Profits First, People Last : Technology Replacing People

A major negative effect of technology that's becoming more of a concern as years go on, is the fact that people are losing their jobs due to new innovations and advancements in technology. According to an article by Bernard Condon and Paul Weisman (http://news.msn.com/us/loss-of-middle-class-jobs-compounded-by-tech-advances) , most of the jobs that are being taken over by technological robots and machines are in the service sector that contains majority of all workers.

Businesses are always looking for ways to make more money by spending less and being more efficient as well as increasing productivity. Of course, with technological machines doing the work, you don't need air-conditioning, employees taking breaks, and most importantly businesses don't need to pay them. Basically, it is a fact that technological machines and softwares are more efficient than humans.  On a bigger scale, technological progress is not only making businesses richer, but the country as well because of a rise in economic growth. However with this rise in economic growth came a decline in job creation.

Now imagine your parent had a job in putting tires on cars. One day the car company they worked for told them that they had lost their job due to a new machine acquired to put tires on a car faster than your parent could and without any mistakes. That would be terrible considering now that less money would be coming into your family and now your parent's new job was to find another job. Unfortunately many workers are in this situation. People's skills and techniques are just not as good as technology. In the article mentioned in the first paragraph from secretary jobs to travel agents, they're all disappearing. You can see how jobs are being taken over by technology by simply walking into a store, particularly big box stores such as Superstore, Walmart, No Frills, etc. There are now self-checkouts in which buys can simply scan the items themselves and pay without the help of a cashier. In the future, more of these automated checkouts will be put in place and less cashiers if any will be needed. This supports a statement in the article that says "It's becoming a self-serve world. Instead of relying on someone else in the workplace or our personal lives, we use technology to do tasks ourselves. This trend will grow as software permeates our lives." By being able to check out of a store yourself, you don't need to rely on a cashier to do it for you.


According to this article, (http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2011/10/07/9-skilled-occupations-being-killed-by-technology/ ), Sauter lists 9 occupations in which employment is decreasing due to technology. These include: horologists, paperhangers, camera and photographic equipment repairers, computer operators, desktop publishers and many more. With the increase in technology, people no longer need watches, because their phone tells the time. With a decrease in employment for watch repairers, people will simply buy a new watch instead of paying a high price to get it repaired.


My opinion on this is that if it's not a huge problem now, it will be in the future as there are more developments and progress in technology. People need jobs to acquire money to survive. If technology is taking these jobs, where will the people go? Something needs to be done so that people can still maintain a job without a machine or a piece of technology taking it over. As years go on, more and more people will lose their jobs to these smart technologies, and if a solution isn't found, a lot of us could end up jobless.

Phones are running, not children:The technological effect on obesity rates

Children of the past

Children today

When I was a child and technology was just emerging, I was caught up in the outdoors and nature. I played outside with the neighborhood children and I rode my bike almost everyday. I used my imagination and creativity to come up with things to keep myself occupied. I built a block house, I drew my family, I colored rainbows, I collected rocks, I watched the birds and I used my mind to keep myself entertained. Things were different back then because technology hadn't become a huge part of people’s lives as yet. Now, when I tell my younger cousins to go outside and play hopscotch, I don’t get the response I would expect from little children, instead they ask if we could play on my phone. They’d prefer to be entertained by an electronic device. Things have changed because of the increase of technology in the world. Not only would my cousins rather sit in front of a TV, computer, Ipod, phone etc, but many of today’s children would also want to do the same. This constant urge to be in front of a screen has many negative health effects; one of the most dominant being that this increase in the amount of technology available is having an effect on the obesity rate.

To begin with, humans aren't getting enough exercise due to the benefits of technology. People can bank and shop online and therefore don’t find a reason to go get some physical activity. Children don’t go outside to play or ride their bike because they would rather do that on their phone.

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/48757019/#.UoGC5-Jw_k8

According to this article written by Maggie Fox published on NBC news, there is a connection between the amount of money a country spends on technology and obesity rates for that country. The surprising statistic discussed is : “For every 10 percent rise in what a country spends on information and communications technology, there’s a 1 percent increase in obesity rates.”  This statistic is telling us that the more a country makes technology available, the more people spend money on it, and the more overweight a country’s citizens become. Humans are spending too much time in front of their TVs, phones, computer, etc. in their chairs and sofas at home instead of going outside and getting active. Children pass too many hours with their eyes fixed on the television and less hours exercising.

Not only is technology reducing our exercise but it is also changing the way we eat and what we eat. There is an increased intake of processed foods that contribute to obesity. People are not spending time preparing a healthy meal, instead they are grabbing fast foods. These habits can stick for a lifetime.

Technology has made life simple for us, but it should not be taking away from the time that we are active and exercise. Our bodies needs physical activity to be healthy. Not enough exercise can lead to obesity and therefore we can see how technology has a negative effect on our health particularly on our weight. So sometimes, it’s best to just get off the phone or stop watching TV and head outside.

LIFE BEHIND A SCREEN: The Effect on our Experiences

        A recent video on Youtube entitled "I Forgot My Phone" is about our growing dependence and addiction to our smartphones, and all its negative consequences. The video has gone viral, hitting more than 31 million views, and many people are using this short film as an example of what's wrong with society today in regard to smartphone usage. The main message of the video is clear, that the constant use of smartphones is taking away the experience of life from us. We are not able to enjoy the life we live because of these devices. This is the first negative effect of technology on society that will be discussed in this blog, as it is one that is very relatable and one that most likely effects the majority of people currently reading this blog. 

        The reason why this video has attracted so much attention is it's complete accuracy with today's society and their smartphone obsessions. The smartphone did not really start becoming popular in use until less than a decade ago, and ever since, the percentage of people around the world who own a smartphone has been on the rise. In fact, there are over 1.8 billion smartphone users in the world today. The more important data reveals however that the average amount of times a person checks their smartphone a day is 150 times, with an estimated 1 in 5 users addicted to their smartphones. We know now that is not simply a myth or an exaggeration; it is a real problem that we are all facing and it's causing a tremendous amount of problems for us. 

        Looking back at the video above, smartphones bring one big consequence to society, and that is the affect it has on our experience in life. The video highlights the numerous ways our smartphones take us away from reality and how this can be problematic. When we go see a concert, we are no longer watching the artist perform with our own eyes, but through a tiny screen. When we are trying to communicate and socialize with friends, we are not interacting with the people around us, but with people online on our phones. It has even proven through recent studies that our constant usage of smartphones has started to affect our communication abilities. We are interacting in person far less than in the past, because it is much easier to send a text than to approach the person and speak. Communication is a key aspect of life, and it is being neglected because of these cellular devices.

       The video does a successful job of showing just how out of touch we can become when we are using our smartphones. We are never truly in the moment, because we are focused on our screens instead. This is visible in the video with the birthday party scene, where nobody is actually involved in the important moment in front of them, because they are too busy texting or taking photos. How can we keep enjoying all of life's joys and pleasures if our smartphones are there distracting us? It is clearly evident that our smartphones are slowly beginning to take over our lives, and it is only a matter of time before reality becomes something simply on a screen. 

Sources:

http://www.6smarketing.com/blog/canadian-smartphone-use-statistics/

Video directed by Miles Crawford