The first thing I did yesterday was make two salads and two desserts. One salad and one dessert was for my husband's family dinner at noon. The other salad and dessert was for an evening Thanksgiving meal with my family.By the end of the day, everyone was tired. It had been a long day and we had all eaten two Thanksgiving meals. We were standing around the table talking. Well, at least I thought we were. People seemed to be talking to each other, but two of them were reading Black Friday ads from the newspaper, two of the kids were texting, two of the adults were on their cell phones, and one was surfing the web on his laptop computer. I just looked around and thought, "We're not really together here." Each person seemed isolated, doing his or her own thing.
It made me wonder if all the technology, as amazing as it is, is really a good thing. I started thinking about some of the dangers I've seen, read, or heard about. Here are eight of them to consider:
1. There may be a link between cell phone use and tumors.
2. Using cell phones and texting while driving may very likely cause an accident.
3. Technology may isolate people, even when they're together. There is some argument about this, however. One study says that technology actually causes people to socialize more, just differently than before.
4. Cyber-bullying and cyber-stalking take place frequently. Along with this is the possibility of encountering Internet predators. Children may also accidentally (or purposely) see inappropriate material on the Internet. Parents must be vigilant.
5. Internet addiction can occur. Studies have show that, while not an official disorder, there are cases where excessive computer use interferes with a person's daily activity. Other studies have shown a link between Internet addiction and ADHD and depression in teens.
6. Carpal tunnel syndrome can be caused by the repetitive motion of typing or mouse-clicking.
7. The black dust (toner) used in laser printers has been classified by the FDA as a class-A carcinogen.
8. Technology, especially video games, makes people less active. Lack of exercise can lead to obesity which leads to a variety of diseases.
Parents, students, and teachers need to be aware of these dangers as well as others that may exist. Limiting the use of technology may be necessary for the health and welfare of all.
Sources:
7. The black dust (toner) used in laser printers has been classified by the FDA as a class-A carcinogen.
8. Technology, especially video games, makes people less active. Lack of exercise can lead to obesity which leads to a variety of diseases.
Parents, students, and teachers need to be aware of these dangers as well as others that may exist. Limiting the use of technology may be necessary for the health and welfare of all.
Sources:
A good follow-up to this article would be 8 positive effects of technology. For example, without technology, we wouldn't have A Teacher's Viewpoint :)
ReplyDeleteTo Tamahome Jenkins: Thanks for the suggestion. I'm always looking for ideas. I may write that at the end of the week.
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