Technology is a historical phenomenon that has captured the minds of humans ever so. We’ll start this blog post with a quick history lesson. Before the arrival of technology in digital form, a construct known as the “information society” was used by social scientists to imagine what humanity would be like when technologies such as computers became central to its everyday purpose (Buckland, 2022, Week 2 Slide 54 ). Fast forward to today and it can be argued that computers have very much become a part of our everyday lives.
Technology can also be known as the main engine of history (Buckland, 2022, Week 2 Slide 22), leading humanity to where it is today. For that reason, it may be easy for you to view technology in an entirely positive manner given the role it’s played towards the advancement of society.
However, sometimes we allow technology to get the best of us. The modern day has brought digital activities to us which we use for work, leisure, and enjoyment, and excessive use of said activities may develop an addiction to the form of technology in question. In addition to computers, smartphones and tablets can be considered a significant part of our lives, and the emergence of those devices can make it hard to maintain a healthy balance with technology (StoneRidge, 2021). Often, we rely on technology to the point where not being involved with it can make us feel like we’re missing out, and that is what leads to excessive use and addiction (StoneRidge, 2021). To summarize the reasoning behind technological addiction, science indicates the matter to be related to the feel-good chemical, dopamine, that we all have inside our brains. The more we use technology over time, the greater the attachment to it becomes which can trick our brains into relying on technology to release dopamine; harming the natural balance behind the release of dopamine (StoneRidge, 2021). Furthermore, addiction to technology has also been found to have major impacts to an individual’s mental health, contributing to the following, but not limited to:
- Anxiety, depression, restlessness, irritability, insomnia, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (Sternlicht & Sternlicht, ND).
A few signs of technology addiction for your knowledge also include the following:
- Ignoring important life duties such as school, work, and relationships at the expense of technology
- Loss of interest in social and leisure activities at the expense of technology
- Experiencing a crave for digital device use
- Relying on digital devices to bring yourself pleasure or dopamine (Sternlicht & Sternlicht, nd).
Two of the most common types of technology addiction listed by Sternlicht & Sternlicht (nd) include addiction to video games, and addiction to social media or networking. These two forms of technology will be the focus surrounding the remaining blog posts in our series due to their popularity in modern day technology use. Our next blog post will look at video game addiction and some theory behind the technological phenomenon. Thank you for reading.
Blog references:
Buckland, A. (2022). Week 2 PPT History of the Digital Age. Royal Roads University COMM 329 Course Content.
Sternlicht, L., & Sternlicht, A. (nd). The 6 Most Common Types of Technology Addiction. Familyaddictionspecialist.com. https://www.familyaddictionspecialist.com/blog/the-6-most-common-types-of-technology-addiction.
(2021). Technology Addiction and the Brain: Understanding The Impact. StoneRidge: Center for Brains. https://pronghornpsych.com/technology-addiction-and-the-brain/#:~:text=Not%20being%20connected%20to%20technology,Disrupted%20sleep.
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