Relationship With Technology (Final Blog)

The landscape of technology has changed exponentially from my youth to now. I have seen flip phones, blackberries, gaming consoles, flatscreen televisions, smartphones, and laptops. But as technology has grown, so have I. The impact that technology has had on my life and my relation to it has developed and changed as a result. I have grown to use technology to my benefit and prevent it from holding me back. As we all know there are many pros and cons to technology and the impact it can have on us all. For some people it can help grow their knowledge, business, or mindset. But for others it can consume their livelihood and lead to mental health struggles. It is all determined by our relationship with it, and how we let it impact our lives.

Looking at my relationship with technology over the years, I would definitely say that I have had ups and downs throughout my life. Growing up with the inventions of the Ipad, Iphone, and gaming consoles, meant that I spent much of my youth on technology. Mostly playing games and engaging with content online. Although it was all healthy and for fun, this meant I spent a lot of time online. However, I also played three sports which helped balance the overwhelming use. In high school and as I grew up, I realized that my technology use was quite high and that I should cut back. This led to me limiting my use of social media, video games, and just the internet in general. This is a limit that I still use today in my daily life. However, being in college, means that there is many more reasons and resources I must use in order to learn. So, this has led to me to using technology and being on my computer much more then previously throughout my life. Also, having a finance internship over the summer meant I spent most days on my computer and using technology. Using all my resources and program's to finish my work as efficiently as possible. And although I use technology a lot in my daily life, I feel as if it is a healthy relationship and is used to progress my life forwards. 

However, this doesn't mean that there aren't times where I abuse this access to technology. Many times I find myself scrolling and watching videos much longer than I intended, and feeling the urge to check my phone constantly throughout the day. This can be said of many teens today, as a study found that teens spend an average of 7 hours and 22 minutes on a screen a day. This study compares how technology can almost be seen as a drug today, with many young people using and abusing the invention. 

However this doesn't just apply to teens, as the average adult spends nearly 7 hours and 4 minute a day looking at a screen. Which makes sense when you consider that many people work jobs that rely solely on technology. As the world continues to advance, we have relied on technology to carry our business functions and make workflow more efficient. 

But what impact can this technological use have on us as human beings? Well, some benefits of  technology are that it can increase communication, efficiency, productivity, learning, revenue, and innovation. All benefits that have progressed our society by leaps and bounds. Leading to a more educated and efficient society. However, this quicker moving society has also had some unseen or looked over negative impacts. These can be impacts such as mental health struggles, depression, job loss, privacy concerns, cyberbullying, depression, sleep disruptions, and technology addiction. All issues that we can seen in our daily lives, and have most likely seen in people we know. The National Institute of Health found that "the increased usage can have effects on brain functioning that will compromise sleep and cognitive abilities and develop risk for certain mental illnesses including, but not limited to, depression, anxiety, Alzheimer's disease, and attention-deficit/hyperactive disorder (ADHD).". All issues that we have seen spike over the past two decades and since the development of technology. 

I believe I have been able to limit most of these effects by being conscious about my social media use and having those around me hold me accountable. I know in my family growing up, there were some times and places where we typical didn't use technology. Things like the dinner table, while doing homework, or whenever we were all trying to have a discussion. This has helped make both myself and those around me accountable for screen time. However, temptations continue to limit me each day and prove challenging as you progress through life. One major challenge daily is the idea of FOMO or the fear of missing out. As your constantly are worrying about what people are up to and what you are missing out on. However, with continued discipline this habit can be diminished. Another major challenge of today is Artificial Intelligence or AI and it's impact on our daily lives. Many studies have found that about a quarter (27%) of Americans say they interact with artificial intelligence almost constantly or several times a day. With this incredible exponential growth, it is yet another hurtle we must overcome and understand in order to have a responsible and beneficial relationship with technology.

As you grow and develop with technology, you also begin to realize of when it's appropriate and when it's not appropriate to use. This can not only help your use but also prevent you from engaging in negative material online. Since technology has grown so large, it has reached places and people that use it for the pursuit of harm or darkness, with nearly 90% of people aged between 18 and 34 have witnessed or received harmful content online at least once. Thus, meaning that sometimes you can find yourself engaging with content or users with bad intentions. However, by being technologically responsible, one can limit these encounters.

Regardless of all these facts, a study found that "overall views about the effects of technology are also largely positive, if a bit less so in comparison with science. About half of adults (52%) say technology has had mostly positive effects, compared with 38% who say there have been an equal mix of positive and negative effects of technology." Showing that a majority of us know about this push and pull of technology. And although it can benefit our lives it can also negatively impact our lives.

So, in order to keep up with the progression of technology, and keep a healthy technological relationship, we must be conscious of how to do so. This includes things like, keeping your information safe, limiting use, and understanding your online footprint. The technological world is incredibly complex and most don't understand it's inner working. This can lead to a person being hacked, exposed, or mistreated online. So, staying updated and educated on technology is incredibly important. And, spreading it to those who may not understand just might just go a long way. All which assist in developing a persons never ending journey with technology.