Negative Effects Of Technology In Canada

As the all-encompassing, widespread reach of technology expands to all class groups and cohorts both in Canada and many locales worldwide, it is important to carefully examine both the positive and negative effects of the Internet, social media, and general technological development. It is thus especially relevant to investigate the detrimental effects of an evidently increasing over usage of technology upon the individual and, in turn, the family in a modern Canadian society. When individuals are exposed to extensive, unregulated amounts of technology through crucial stages of their social development, their personhood and interfamily relationships will be notably hindered due to the reinforcement of ineffective communication, personal issues

Although it is difficult to measure the effects of technological overuse in a quantitative or universally agreed-upon manner because of the newness of the apparent issue, many studies have confirmed both the positive and negative correlations between different levels of technological use and various aspects of social development (Human Kinetics). One central concern of the rising abuse and overuse of technology are the potential effects which stem from severely popular social networking websites (i.e. Facebook and Instagram). A more prevalent effect of the overuse of these technologies is the prolongation and widespread encouragement of narcissism. Narcissism is defined as “an excessive preoccupation with or admiration of oneself” (American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language). Alongside overuse, social media has developed into an avenue for persons to display their narcissistic traits online. Social media allows an individual, especially those easily moulded or more easily addicted such as younger children and adolescents, to create individual profiles, to post self-involved information and to interact with others on a less profound level. By acting as a gateway

With about half of respondents to a recent survey admitting that they suffer socially with issues stemming from social media, it is evidently important that we, as a population, consider the potential effects of these technologies upon our public’s mental and physical health (Norman). On a purely neurochemical level, studies show that using media devices such as cell phones and computers stimulates the production of cortisol, a stress hormone, while limiting the production of melatonin, a sleep hormone (Woda). Additionally, many researchers have made a link between technology dysregulation and obesity – a 2004 study found that for each hour spent watching television or playing video games, a child’s threat of obesity doubles (Warner). Therefore, the parallel between physical unhealth and overindulgence in technology is shockingly high, but the cautionary signs of the detriments of technological use is even more frightening when seen within the field of mental illness. As of March 2015, an estimated one in five adolescents shows symptoms of a diagnosable mental illness, with more than twenty-five percent of high school students showing at least mild symptoms of depression (Becker). Because experienced web users displayed fundamentally different neural structures in the pre-frontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for