Has Computer Technology Changed Peoples Lifestyles - Example

Has Computer Technology changed People’s Lifestyles? By Student’s Name Code +course name Professor’s name University name City, State Date Has Computer Technology changed People’s Lifestyles? Introduction The internet nowadays, beyond being a valuable source of information, has turned out to be an addiction for a number of people. Research shows that the rate of internet addictions has significantly increased in the world (Albrecht, 2014). According to Fisk (2014), addictions affect social, emotional and spiritual areas of a human being. Technology advancement is a major cause of addictions. Addiction is over-dependency on a substance or behaviour. An addiction makes the addict feel powerless. Any attempt to disengage from the addiction cause major distress to the person who is addicted. Online, computer and device use are a major cause of addiction today. Over-dependency on these technologies is increasing, particularly in developed nations, including Australia (Frazer, 2014). According to Albrecht (2014), technological gadgets and devices are without doubt the biggest change our world has seen in the last two decades. The consequences of the increased digital devices, most handheld, in our world range from greater information access, access to information on the go, increased speed in solution delivery to greater socialization and interaction. Interactivity is one of the major benefits of computer technological advancements in recent times, but it comes with a cost. Many users of digital gadgets become attached to devices, online forums, chat rooms, online games, social networking sites and even pornographic websites’ content. In this vein, it can be deduced that the internet tends to influence people’s lifestyles, leading to the development of the following hypothesis: H1. Advancement of computer technology today has increased hazardous content, and this has affected people’s lifestyles. Though several studies about computer and technology exist, little effort has gone into studying their impacts on peoples’ lifestyles. An assessment of the role of computer technology and their impacts on personal lifestyles is, therefore, overdue. The following essay focuses on the impact of computer technology on people’s lifestyles. Discussion Computer Technology and Applications Computer technology devices and applications that have affected our world the most are mobile phones, tablets and computers in the devices section (McNEILAGE, n.d.). Facebook, Twitter, Google, Linked In, Instagram, MySpace and other social networks have affected our application world. There are many sources of information in this age, causing information overload. This information overload makes it difficult to choose the information to consume at any given time. Online media sources have become essential. Anyone can publish information at will and at any intervals. Any person can become the centre of information. This ability to be a publisher at any time encourages overuse of online platforms. Many people want to receive the most current information while, at the same time, want to share the latest information as soon as they receive it. This desire is pushing more people to stay online for longer than they should causing major health, social, physical and spiritual disorders. Smartphones and tablets have become the norm in our society. The biggest reason for smartphones and tablets becoming an integral part of our lives is quality internet (3G and 4G). Users can now Snap Edit and Post information within minutes. With this capability, microblogging has undoubtedly become the way of life. Microblogging, in turn, has encouraged increased interactivity with friends and followers. Whereas Interactivity is great, it continues to enslave some people with some taking many working hours to chat, tweet or instant message with friends. Social media networks and other applications are currently key parts of our global culture. Facebook and twitter currently enjoy large membership – Facebook has over 800 million users and twitter has more than 100 million users, worldwide. The use of mobile internet according to (Kangas & Cavén, 2011) penetrated the Asian market fast; and this is not an exception to Australia. Mobile internet powers most of the devices that support applications like Facebook and Twitter. Online and Technology Addiction According to (Dess, n.d.), an addiction is the dependency on a substance or behaviour. The increased dependency on mobile devices for example, is becoming a big worry. Attention spans at work and classrooms are reduced because of the need to either check social media networks. Personal lives are affected by the technological influx. The dependency on technological devices is a major concern as far as education is concerned. Many students are using screen devices for their studies, and in the extreme, in the examination rooms. This has led to the production of half-baked students who do not match the job environment. Research shows that effects of reduced use of screens for children addicted to them causes “withdrawal and bad reaction” from the students (Preston, 2013). Socialization among young people is now mostly in front of computer screens and screen displays of smartphones and mobile phones (Carbone & Nauth, 2012). Gaming groups across the world is increasing, leaving little time for the outdoor activities that young people engage in. Lack of supervised or verifiable supervised outdoor games is a worrying trend, and in most scenarios, there are no activities happening. Young people need to participate in outdoor activities for healthy growth. Health Risks – Physical and Mental Health complications that emerge from addiction in online gaming are migraines, backaches, sleep disturbances and insomnia, poor physical hygiene and carpal tunnel syndrome. Carpal tunnel syndrome is caused by the squeezing and pressing of the forearm main nerve. This disease is majorly a disease for computer users (CLUSKEY, n.d.). Online game addiction can become a major risk. Over use of the computer, mouse and computer consoles can cause a swelling and irritation of the nerve and tendons in the arm. Sleep disturbances including insomnia, sleep apnoea, and nocturnal myoclonus are common in today’s world. Addiction in computer gaming and computer user causes extra pressure on the user to remain awake and overstimulation of the brain. Obsession with computer games can cause users to have less sleep than normal, and this makes the users to have difficulties in sleeping. Other health complications include backaches, which is caused by sitting postures and long setting periods (Jones & Bartlett, 2011). Focussing exclusively on online games, gamers are seated most of the time. This causes stress on the backbone due to stiffness and soreness, as there is a lack of movement. Typically, online gamers experience migraines because of long periods of time that gamers spend. Eating disorders and personal hygiene are other health complications that emerge from extended use of computer games. Suicide cases for people aged 15-35 years are increasing. Health departments in Australia show increased numbers. Majority of suicide cases in Australia are attributable to gambling and online betting. Psychologists predict that these numbers will continue to increase as more people continue to go online unchecked. Online Gaming and Gambling Online gaming has become a major problem. The use of mobile phones has increased the gaming culture. Kids and youth spend many hours playing online games daily. In the recent past, the number of online gamers has increased in Australia with most avid gamers spending between 7-12 hours playing games (CONNOR, n.d.). Thus, online gaming is changing the social fabric of most families because the time that would be spent learning new things and socializing with others is being spent in front of screens and computer consoles. School children are concentrating on online games like FIFA14, X-Box and other similar games instead of doing homework. Online betting like online gaming has gained momentum in the past few years, and this has caused major social problems. There are many cases of suicide, embezzlement, murder and alcoholism that are associated with online betting and gambling. Pathological gamblers are more susceptible to these social ills. Mobile devices have made it easier for gamblers to carry out their betting activities. The increased online casinos and betting shops and increased access to betting in several sporting events is a haven for serial gamblers (DUNN, n.d.). Some gamblers consume their entire incomes in online casinos. This results in borrowing, indebtedness and risk of stealing. Research shows that stealing from family and friends has become a common phenomenon amongst gamblers. The increased use of mobile use has brought about an increase in road accidents. Many road users are using devices (though ill advised) while driving. This habit is increasing the occurrences of accidents and it has affected many livelihoods, in Australia. In the last decade, the number of road accidents caused by drivers or pedestrians using mobile devices increased significantly. Texting and microblogging has become a dangerous activity, especially for road users. Paedophilia and Pornography Pornography is not a creation of technology, though it has grown with the growth of online platforms. “Sex-tubes” and pornographic material is now more accessible to young people online. The fact that most mobile devices are able to access online content makes it even more dangerous. It is also easier for more young people to be involved in the business because they can take amateur videos online. Online sharing sites are also a danger to young people especially children. Paedophilia is another major concern for authorities because the attraction of children online by lying persons is very high. Many children are being attracted to people online by false pretence. Child trafficking is also increasing because of contacts that have been built in recent times. According to researchers, paedophilia is indeed the new slave trade. It is a danger that society must deal with it urgently. Conclusion In conclusion, the above discussion has clearly shown that the increasing access to technology has its down side. Authorities and the society must deal with the effects of technology. A more streamlined and supervised access to the internet, especially from mobile devices, must be encouraged. Parents must take their rightful role of educating their children on the dangers of internet or overuse of these devices will continue. Technology is advancing the society, and therefore, the resulting negative effects must be tackled immediately. Reference List Albrecht, K. 2014. Broken promises. USA. World Future Society. Carbone, C. & Nauth, K., 2012. From Smart House to Networked Home. The Futurist, July - August, 46(4), pp. 29-33. CLUSKEY, P., n.d. Children caught in net as addiction to online video games increases. s.l.:eLibrary. CONNOR, S., n.d. No evidence (so far) that the internet warps teenage brains. s.l.:eLibrary. Dess, J., n.d. Addicted to the Web- On-Line Gaming and Pornography, s.l.: s.n. DUNN, P., n.d. Online gambling sparks addiction fears. s.l.:eLibrary. Fisk. R., 2014. Robert Fisk: Our addiction to the internet is as harmful as any drug – and what passes for comment these days is often simply foul abuse. Accessed on Sunday 25 May 2014 from< http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/robert-fisk-our-addiction-to-the-internet-is-as-harmful-as-any-drug--and-what-passes-for-comment-these-days-is-often-simply-foul-> Frazer, S. 2014. Australians prefer digital devices over television for media consumption: survey by finance reporter Simon Frazer. Accessed on 30, July 2014 from www.abc.net.au/.../2014.../australians-prefer-digital-over-television-for- media-consumption/563643> Jones & Bartlett, 2011. Recreation and Leisure in Modern Society. s.l.:Jones and Bartlett Publishers. Kangas, S. & Cavén, O., 2011. Youth and Their Media Use: Discussion On Habits, Attitudes and Trust. In: Digital Pioneers - Tracing the Cultural Drivers of Future Media Culture. Helsinki: s.n., pp. 9-15. McNEILAGE, A., n.d. School's in for digital learning. s.l.:eLibrary. Preston, R., 2013. Study to reveal impact of screen technology. [Online] Accessed 6 September 2014. From < http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/study-to-reveal-impact-of-screen-technology-20130623-2oqda.html> Read More