Effects of excessive use of technology on physical health

Abstract

Excessive use of technology can be linked to an array of negative health effects. This article aims to outline some of the key effects experienced, as well as looking into how people feel about technology and how they deal with any health effects they experience. To gather information regarding the issue, a survey was conducted among 30 participants where they were asked a variety of questions regarding their technology use habits, opinions on the matter and how they deal with health issues. The results show that technology use is placed at a high importance when it comes to daily life, however participants still acknowledged that they feel they spend too much time using technology and do experience negative health effects (primarily headaches, eye strain and neck/shoulder pain). Interestingly, it was also found that treatment for these health effects is not always sought, and that participants don’t always proactively try to mitigate or treat said effects. The results made it clear that while there is an awareness of the negative health effects that are linked to technology use, due to the importance of the role that technology plays in society and how common it is, these effects are sometimes just dealt with as opposed to proactively finding proper treatments or solutions. Institutions offer generally little support in these matters, and while participants largely did not have a strong opinion on the matter, offering support for something that is so prevalent in the lives of everyone would be a great start.