In a recent video, I explained some of the positive effects that technology has on mental health. This might have seemed contradictory to what you usually hear about electronic devices. But it’s true that online tools make it easy to access mental health services.
LINKS:
____________________________________________
https://etactics.com/blog/negative-ef...
____________________________________________
Still though, you’re not wrong in the assumption that it can also be negative. Only 5% of adults think that technology is completely positive. While benefits exist, so do the adverse impacts.
High use of technology leads to increased isolation and decreased social interactions. Heavy social media users are 3 times more likely to have perceived social isolation. 73% of them feel lonely, compared to 52% of light social media users.
This isn’t just a perceived feeling. People are actually having less human interactions on a daily basis which causes this loneliness. At work, technology reduces in-person interactions for 56% of people. Only 53% of Americans have meaningful interactions each day. But decreasing our online use helps ease these feelings of loneliness.
The more someone uses technology, the more likely they are to have negative online experiences. The fear of missing out (also known as FOMO) is a common feeling for people who often use social media. They’re constantly comparing themselves to others which leads to higher levels of anxiety and depression. Another negative online experience is cyberbullying.
Sadly, technology makes it easier for people to be bullies as they hide behind their screens. 59% of teens have experienced some type of cyberbullying. The more often that people have these negative web encounters, the higher their chance for depression. For every 10% rise in negative interactions that someone experiences, their risk for depression increases by 20%.
Technology impacts more than just our mental health. It also has physical impacts, including worse sleep patterns and high inactivity. 90% of Americans use electronic devices within one hour of bedtime. The blue light from screens disrupts our natural body clock which makes it harder to sleep. Poor sleep patterns contribute to depression and anxiety. High use of technology also results in decreased physical activity. We spend more time indoors sitting on our devices. This interruption in daily activities is negative for our overall health. Around 3.2 million deaths per year are due to physical inactivity.
Finally, technology causes patterns of addiction. In 2012, the prevalence of Internet Addiction Disorder rates was between 1.5% to 8.2%. Now, it’s between 5% and 10%. When people don’t have their phones, they feel panicked, depressed, and helpless. They also feel jealous of others who do have their devices. One study found that 94% of people feel troubled if they don’t have their phones.
Even though technology can have amazing benefits for connecting people to mental health services, it can also have damaging effects. The more time we spend using it, the more likely we are to have negative problems such as isolation, addiction, inactivity, and sleep problems. Overall screen-time is close to 11 hours per day for Americans, and it’s continued to increase annually. But decreasing the time spent online can reverse some of these detrimental effects. We’ll have more time for meaningful interactions, sleep, and exercise, and we won’t feel so attached to our phones that it causes us panic.
If you’d like to learn more about how technology is negative for our mental health, reach out to Etactics. And you already made it this far into the video, so you might as well like it, share it, and comment below.
► Reach out to Etactics @ https://www.etactics.com
►Subscribe: https://rb.gy/pso1fq to learn more tips and tricks in healthcare, health IT, and cybersecurity.
►Find us on LinkedIn: / etactics-inc
►Find us on Facebook: /
#MentalHealth #MentalHealthTechnology
Информация по комментариям в разработке