Technology’s Effects on Our Health
By Jieun Woo
There have been many changes since the start of the worldwide pandemic, COVID-19, from travel bans to school closings as social distancing measures became enforced, and people had to stay home all day. As social interactions became harder to have, many people increased their reliance on one method for contact: technology.
Technology has been playing a large role in this social distancing phase. For example, it’s a way to continue to work from home, learn in online schooling, and stay in contact with family members. Recreational activities may now be online as well; social media, games, and tv shows are all examples. However, now that screen time has spiked significantly, it has also put a strain on our body. As people continue to face in front of screens all day, this continuous repetition of unhealthy habits may lead to consequences, including various health problems.
One possible effect from being online all day is on sleep. While it may just seem like a simple action, sleep is key in staying healthy, feeling happy, and working well. Possible health conditions that could appear due to increased screen time are insomnia and depression. The screens that people stare at each day emit an artificial blue light which suppresses the release of melatonin, the body’s sleep-inducing hormone. As people stare at screens longer, the release of melatonin becomes delayed longer, leading to difficulty in sleeping, and over time, sleep deprivation can lead to depression. While one should try and limit overall daily screen time as well, it is especially important to restrict technology use one to two hours before bed in order to avoid these ailments.
Increased screen time also affects the eyes. Eye strains, blurred vision, loss of focus flexibility, and dry eyes are some examples of conditions that may appear from staring at a screen all day. These problems appear due to a variety of reasons including the glare on the screen, improper viewing distances, and staying focused close-up on a bright screen for long periods. While these problems can be solved simply by reducing unnecessary screen time, an alternative method is the 20-20-20 rule; take a break every 20 minutes to stare at an object 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds. This gives the eyes a break from staring at a close bright screen.
Another problem with sitting in front of a screen all day involves posture. Many people have their own comfortable position in which they probably use for possibly hours on end and the position may put pressure on the body. Some symptoms that may occur are rounded shoulders, a potbelly, headaches, muscle fatigue, and back, neck, and shoulder pains. While these signs may just seem trivial, overtime, these conditions can turn into something much more serious, like a permanent change in your spinal cord. These ailments can be avoided by keeping a proper sitting posture, a proper sitting posture involves many details that are unlikely to be constantly followed. Additionally, even with a proper sitting posture, one should not sit for more than 30 minutes at a time.
These are just a few examples of the negative impacts that increased amounts of screen time can have. While being online may be tempting, it is important to find a healthy balance, and there are multiple easy ways to reduce screen time. The first way is setting timed limits. In many devices, whether it be a computer or a phone, there is now a way to set a timed limit for the amount of screen time that you spend. The limit makes sure there is reduced screen time by preventing access to the app/device until the next day. Other ways to reduce time online are simple; just stop taking your device into the bathroom or to bed before sleeping. Many people have habits where they carry their device with them nearly everywhere. By just leaving your device somewhere else when you are home, instead of taking it with you to the bathroom or to bed, you will be able to lower a great amount of screen time. The last method is to just turn off unnecessary notifications. Whenever a notification alerts, our attention turns to the device as we check whatever alert that came, leading to us going online again. By turning the alerts off, we are able to reduce our attention on the device, and therefore, the amount of screen time also decreases.
Even before coronavirus, people generally spent quite some time on their devices. Now, as COVID-19 has forced many people under house arrest, the amount of screen time has skyrocketed. While being online provides us with entertainment and helps us maintain the social interactions that have been stalled in our lives due to the coronavirus, it is necessary to control the allowed amount of screen time in order to avoid many different health problems that may arise due to prolonged screen time.