Technology has evolved a ton over the years. It is now evolving insanely quick as well. I received my first iPhone in third grade. Thinking back to it now, I have no idea what my parents were thinking, I was so little! It was called an "iPhone 3G" and although it didn't have a SIM card, I could basically use it just like normal as long as I was connected to WIFI. I already had Instagram and I would post pictures of my friends and myself all of the time. Skipping to our current time period, I now have the "iPhone 12 Pro Max." The growth in technology during the past decade is truly mind blowing. Now, you can log onto your phone with the Face ID aspect, your phone can track how fast you are going in your car, it has a QR code scanner, a measuring app, tracks your steps and anything else you may need in just one device.
Although I have had an iPhone for as long as I can remember, I think my relationship with technology has always been pretty healthy. I mean it could definitely be healthier, but compared to the rest of college students who are locked in on TikToks 24/7 I think I’m doing pretty good. When I’m with my friends or family I honestly forget I have a phone a lot of the time. I love spending quality time with people and enjoy spending time in the moment rather than being suffocated by social media. Now don’t get me wrong, in my alone time I love watching YouTube videos of people vlogging their daily lives. Something about watching someone else live their day and viewing life from a different perspective is so intriguing to me. That may seem pretty stalker-ish now that I think about it…
I think my relationship of technology could be a lot better. My screen time when I’m with family or friends is usually around 2-4 hours a day, but being in college and being in a long distance relationship, my screen time can get up to 10 HOURS. That is insanity to me, I go almost the entire day sometimes just staring at a screen. I can’t even begin to imagine how bad that is to not only my eyesight and brain, but to my overall mental health too. Recently I have realized how much I love to read. I’ve always thought I hated reading until I actually picked up a book about 8 months ago. It was the first book that I have read cover to cover because I had to, and I challenged myself to actually read it instead of looking up summaries (which is what I used to always do, and it would bite me in the butt for assignments still.) Now, what does this have to do with technology? Well, every time I put down a book, I end up forgetting about it, and once I do remember, I’m usually on my phone and I can’t seem to pick up the book instead of watching videos on my phone. This is where the toxic relationship comes into play. I have about 30 pages left in my current book and I am itching to find out what happens in the end, but my phone just continues to suffocate me in my free time. I am going to try my best though to fix this problem, because nothing is more relaxing than to chill out and read a book in your free time.
You hear over and over again how bad technology is for you, and I do agree for the reasons I listed before such as mental health. Medical News also expresses that it has effects such as isolation, depression/anxiety, reduced physical activity, poor sleep and so much more. However, it also helps you learn and become smarter. The internet has endless learning opportunities from, ebooks, news, “How to” videos, and google where you can search anything up, and you are bound to find information about the topic. It can be the best way to learn about things you never would have heard about without technology, but if you’re not careful, technology will take a turn for the worse.
MediLexicon International. (n.d.). Negative effects of technology: Psychological, social, and health. Medical News Today. Retrieved April 27, 2023, from https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/negative-effects-of-technology#:~:text=Overuse%20of%20social%20media%20and,and%20its%20overuse%2C%20as%20well.
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