For a few years now, it has been observed that a revolution is underway that will profoundly change all areas of our life – namely the technological progress. A day without the new technologies like a TV, computer or smartphone is unimaginable, especially for today’s generation, to which I belong too. Despite all the benefits of the new technologies, they have a lot of disadvantages, which are often being ignored even from adults. Therefore, I will introduce some of the most important advantages and disadvantages of the wide use of technologies among youth today.
There are several disadvantages to explain why the continued development and use of technology are detrimental to us.
First of all, technology is harmful to the health of young people, because at this age the brain is still in the process of development which makes it more susceptible to external influences. For instance, I have many friends, who suffer from anxiety because of the excessive usage of technology. Not only do they feel depressed, but they also suffer from headaches as well as sleep problems. This is directly connected to the blue light emitted by the devices.
Further, we need to consider that another dark side of technology is the increased feeling of isolation among most of the young people nowadays. The reason is that they prefer to socialize and communicate through electronic devices instead of eye to eye contact. As an example, some time ago I spent most of my days staring at my phone or TV, I didn’t want to go out and spend any time with my friends. Even when I was going out with my friends for a little while, I had trouble talking to them freely.
So, the worst part is that the use of these devices can lead to addiction among the youth. It is because many children grow up with technology and get used to using them every day. To be specific, most of the parents give a tablet or smartphone to their little kid instead of playing with it. When the child grows up, it will prefer playing video games or spending its free time on social media instead of reading a book or studying for school.
However, there are some advantages to clarify.
One of them is that technology has allowed us to learn about more cultures. Namely, the spread of digital technologies and the creation of the internet has led to the establishment of social media. Thanks to them we can keep in touch no matter how far apart we are. We all know that the duration of an Erasmus + project is not enough to get acquainted with everyone from the group. Through social media, we can continue getting to know each other with the participants from other countries.
Further, technological devices can save us from boredom when we are home alone because they provide us with all kinds of entertainment. To be specific, we can play video games, watch TV-series, enjoy virtual reality, etc. Especially now that our country is in a state of emergency as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, technologies are a great way to diversify our daily lives.
The last, but not the least of the benefits is that technology saves time. Today's smartphones and computers are so sophisticated that we can do any activity in seconds such as problem-solving or searching for information. We must not forget the artificial intelligence that could help us with housework.
In conclusion, although technology has revolutionized the world, we need to keep taking the best of it, while using it wisely!
by Simona Hinkova
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