Task2- Kate (Catherine) Mackey

September 9, 2022

Task2- Kate (Catherine) Mackey

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I have read the two articles below:

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/negative-effects-of-technology#physical-health-effects

 

http://www.digitalresponsibility.org/health-and-technology

 

Both of these articles discuss different ways that technology has been affecting humans in a bad way. The first one goes into depth on how it is affecting children, especially whereas the other article does not. Now while many of the issues are the same regarding adults and children the main difference is that when these issues are displayed through the lens of a child it is perceived as much worse in my opinion. Growing up with technology I have realized a huge shift in my peers. I grew up in a time when technology wasn’t something that everyone had. But once I started realizing the kids around me had technology, there was a clear difference in behavior between the kids who had technology as young kids and the kids, like me, who only got technology when they were a teenager. The kids who received their first phone when they were in middle school still have a tough time communicating with others and their social skills are not as good as the other students who got their tech at a much older age. This is a clear link that the first article discusses. Both articles though talk about the physical and phycological effects that tech has had on people, isolation, anxiety, depression, eye strain, neck strain, and much more. 

One thing that I have noticed from experience is that there are apps that are actively trying to get you to go out and explore the real world and get you out of the house and interact with other people. The app that I am referring to is Pokemon Go. When this app first came out I used it non-stop and I realized that I was going outside more and I could encourage my friends to do so as well. And once my friends and I stopped playing Pokemon Go as much we would still go outside and play in the same places we went because of the app. It encouraged us to go outside and meet new people. It had a profound effect on a lot of people all over the world as well. Not all of them were good though. There were a lot of deaths related to pokemon go because people were too glued to their phones and weren’t watching where they were going. This showed just how oblivious we truly are when we are on our phones and technology as a whole. I love what the app was and still is trying to do to get people outside more. Something I think I could make that could help this idea of getting people to go outside more would be to use that already integrated reward system that is brains are accustomed to. This sense of instant gratification could be used to benefit us. Perhaps a type of app that rewards you with physical gifts from walking a certain amount and, or, exercising and burning calories. Or something that gives you a physical reward for visiting a new place and documenting it. This could help the social aspect of our issues as well as help our physical health.