Jackson 1

Dylan Jackson

English 1201

Professor Thomas

23 November 2019

Technological Impact

Imagine sitting down to eat dinner with your family, but instead of talking with each

other, everyone, the kids and the adults, spends the entire evening on their cell phone. Everyone

eats their dinner, but hardly any words are spoken, as they are all too busy browsing social media

or texting. This is fairly normal for families in today’s day and age. In the past, this was the time

when everyone told the rest of the family about their day and all the exciting and interesting

things that happened, but today, society revolves around technology and it is taking control of

families. Being absorbed by the technology is affecting families and the relationships that they

have with each other. Technology is an important part of most people’s lives today, but could it

be getting to the point where it is too much? Parents have the ability to prevent their children

from getting addicted by limiting their screen time. Technology is much more prevalent among

children and teenagers, and it is not only taking away from face-to-face interactions that they

should have, but it also has many more negative effects that parents should be aware of. Parents

should place limitations on the amount of time that their children spend in front of a screen or

using technology because it shapes our learning and cognition, impacts physical health, and

causes psychological issues.

Technology has been extremely revolutionary, as it has become a major part of society.

The internet was originally invented for military purposes, and was later expanded to be used for

communication among scientists. The internet was eventually made available to the public in
 Jackson 2

1991. With the internet, technology has adopted into the number one source for information,

communication, and entertainment. In today’s world, though, technology may be overused and

many people believe that teenagers are addicted. The excessive use of technology can have

major negative impacts on human’s brains and bodies.

To begin, one way that technology negatively impacts humans is by altering their

physiology. Specifically, technology affects the brain and how we learn and process information.

The excessive use of technology can affect our attention spans, our memory, and even our sleep

cycles. In the famous article, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” Nicholas Carr explains how the

internet is taking away from our ability to concentrate and focus. He says that his mind absorbs

information quickly rather than really understanding the full context. He compares his reading to

a jet ski and how they just graze the surface, as opposed to a scuba diver that dives deeper (Carr).

In his article, Carr explains how the internet has changed the way that our brains absorb

information. He says that he is now, ever since the internet became the primary source for

information, unable to sit down and read a lengthy article. The ability to quickly gather

information via the internet has decreased our attention spans and deactivated our abilities to

focus for any extended amount of time. Even people such as Carr, who used to read books all the

time, find it difficult to really sit down, focus, and gather all the information from a text. Rather

than reading for context and to learn, people just skim articles for what they need because it is

more efficient and easier. Skimming has become the normal way of reading as opposed to the

traditional way. Carr explains how people are no longer reading how they used to. Instead of in-

depth reading, where the reader looks for all the details and to fully understand the text, people

are now just skimming over texts quickly in order to find the information that they need (Carr).

With essentially unlimited information at the push of a button, people don’t feel the need to
 Jackson 3

remember information like they did in the past, because they can simply search it up again later.

Shifts in brain connectivity have also been shown to have links to screen time. As Alice Walton

states in an article on Forbes, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital conducted research in order to

observe the difference in the total time that children spend in front of a computer, phone,

television, etc. compared to the amount of time that they spend reading actual books. The study

involved scanning the brains of the children to determine how certain regions of the brain were

linked. The researcher’s conclusion determined that there was less brain connectivity in areas of

the brain involving language and cognition with screen time as opposed to traditional reading

(Walton).

Due to these reasons, the academic performance of these children can take a toll as a

result of the technology usage. People often question whether or not it is good for students to

have access to so much technology. A lot of schools in the United States are beginning to

become more technology based, using things such as personal Macbooks for each student and

Google Classroom for assignments. Most people believe that this access to the internet would

help them learn, but as mentioned above by Carr, technology is taking away from students

learning. Some people would also argue that placing strict regulations and limitations on

technological use would interfere with their ability to grow into responsible adults. An article on

Frutal Fanatic that explains reasons why parents should not place limitations on screen time for

their children describes how children will only be able to limit themselves in the future if they

learn to limit themselves on their own now. The article says that if you give them a choice, they

will learn to not always choose to place themselves in front of a screen (“Reasons Why We

Don’t Limit Screen Time for Our Kids”). Although this could be a good reason to avoid

limitations because it will help them control it more in the future when they are adults, it doesn’t
 Jackson 4

take away from the harm they are doing right now, especially in the classroom. Studies show that

technology, if used excessively, can decrease the performance of children at school. A study by

the Turkish Journal of Pediatric conducted a survey of 2104 students between the ages of 11 and

13. The survey consisted of students of 13 cities in Turkey. They compared grade point averages

and matriculation scores to the time that they spend on screens, whether it be television, video

games, cell phones, or a computer. They found an inverse correlation between screen time and

academic performance, meaning as screen time increased among the students, their performance

in school decreased and vice versa. The ideal amount of study time and screen time to achieve

the highest performance was found to be 2-4 hours of studying each day and no more than an

hour on the computer (Kanburoğlu et al. 129). If students are eclipsing an hour each day, then

they are more likely to have worse academic performance than those who are limited to an hour.

With this in mind, parents should, in the best interest of their child and their academics, limit the

screen time of their children to help ensure that their grades are not affected.

Technology also affects our sleep cycles and the amount of sleep that we get. The

National Sleep Foundation states that the screens that you stare at when watching television,

texting on your phone, or playing games on your computer emit a blue light that slows the

production of melatonin in your body, which is the hormone that controls your sleep cycle,

creating difficulty in sleeping and waking (“How Technology Impacts Sleep Quality”). They

continue to explain how the use of technology within an hour of bedtime can make it harder to

fall asleep, as well as tricking your brain into thinking that you need to stay awake and be alert.

Technology overall has a negative impact on our brains, by decreasing our attention spans and

memory, and by disrupting our sleep cycle.

 Jackson 5

Fig. 1. Blue light can reduce melatonin production, affecting sleep (“Eye damage warning from

study on blue light from digital devices”).

Aside from the brain, technology can also impact our bodies and our physical health.

With this being said, obesity often comes as a result of excessive screen time, whether it be

directly or indirectly. Garry Sigman, MD, pediatrician at Loyola University was quoted by an

article by Social Work Today. In the article, he explains how detrimental television can be on a

child’s health, especially when it goes unmonitored. He says that kids will become absorbed by

the television, causing them to watch for an extended amount of time without even noticing.

During this time where they are watching television, their movements are limited, so they burn

very few calories. It gets even worse when they eat while watching television. Advertisements by

food companies cause them to want to continue eating. Lack of sleep also plays a role in obesity.

As mentioned before by the National Sleep Foundation, technology can impact the quality of
 Jackson 6

sleep, which could in turn, lead to obesity when coupled with the other factors (“Screen Time

and the Childhood Obesity Epidemic”). In order to maintain a healthy body and avoid potential

causes of obesity, parents should monitor their children when watching television and place

limits on how long they can watch at a time.

Another part of the body that technology affects is the eyes. As common as technology is

nowadays, people spend countless hours each and every day staring into a screen, whether it be a

smartphone, laptop, computer, tablet, or television. Many jobs in today’s society require people

to work from a computer all day. These people have a screen beating down on their eyes for

hours each day. An article by the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and contributed to by

Ayesha Malik, OD, who is a pediatric optometrist, focuses on the impact that technology has on

the eyes. The article first explains that simply being indoors can cause nearsightedness. They are

unsure what exactly causes this, but many people believe that sunlight, or more specifically the

UV rays that the sun gives off, is key to developing healthy eyes. With technology being more

prominent today and children tending to spend more time on their phones or watching television

as opposed to playing outside, they are failing to allow their eyes to naturally develop. The

article also says that the rate of nearsightedness has dramatically increased in the past 30 years,

likely having to do with the growth of technology. The second reason that the article mentions is

that it causes eye fatigue. When children become absorbed in their phones or television, they

tend to lose track of time. Looking at a screen for a prolonged amount of time can be bad for the

eyes. They need a break from the close-up focus. The article also mentions that the glare on the

screens also can strain the eyes. Another reason that the article mentions is that the eyes can

become dry and irritated. Since people tend to blink less when focused on a screen, the eyes

easily dry out and become irritated. In order to maintain clear vision, the eye’s surface should be
 Jackson 7

covered in a tear film at all times. When the eyes dry out, this film is no longer in place (Malik).

Placing limitations on screen time can help ensure healthy eyes and clear vision.

Technology has a huge impact on the mental state and behavior of children and teens,

especially. With the growth of technology has also came the introduction of social media. Social

media likely has the biggest influence on how teenagers feel about themselves and others. It has

become increasingly popular over the last couple of years and it has the potential to become a big

issue. In the Forbes article mentioned before, Alice Walton explains research showing a very

strong correlation between teenage depression and suicide, and technology, with social media

being the main factor. The research shows that teenagers are more likely to think about suicide

when they are more involved in social media, gaming, and texting. According to Walton, around

48% of the children that spend five or more hours a day using their cellphone had thought about

suicide, whereas only 28% of those who spent one hour or less on their phones thought this.

Teenagers who, rather than browsing the internet, scrolling through social media, playing video

games, or texting, spend their time studying, doing homework, playing sports, or spending time

with friends and family are less susceptible to depression and/or suicide (Walton). In order to

ensure the stability of their children’s mental health, it would be a good idea for parents to place

restrictions on social media access for their children.

Imagine your mom calls the family into the kitchen for dinner. Everybody gets their food

and sits down. Dad asks how everyone’s day went and the children take turns explaining all the

interesting things that happened to them that day. No phones, just a happy, healthy family

spending quality time together without distractions. This is what the typical family should look

like. By simply placing limitations on screen time for their kids, parents can ensure that

technology is not shaping their learning and cognition, impacting their physical health, or
 Jackson 8

causing any psychological issues. A healthy brain and body can be achieved by simply putting

the phone down or turning off the television.

 Jackson 9

Works Cited

Carr, Nicholas. “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 13 June

2018, www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2008/07/is-google-making-us-

stupid/306868/. Accessed 23 November 2019.

“Eye damage warning from study on blue light from digital devices”. MalayMail, 10 August

2018, https://www.malaymail.com/news/life/2018/08/10/eye-damage-warning-from-

study-on-blue-light-from-digital-devices/1660979. Accessed 7 December 2019.

“How Technology Impacts Sleep Quality.” Sleep.org, www.sleep.org/articles/ways-technology-

affects-sleep/. Accessed 25 November 2019.

Kanburoğlu, Mehmet Kenan, et al. “Optimal Screen and Study Time for Achievement of

High Academic Performance in Adolescents.” Turkish Journal of Pediatric Disease,

2014, doi:10.12956/tjpd.2014.70. Accessed 23 November 2019.

Malik, Ayesha. “How Too Much Screen Time Affects Kids' Eyes.” Children's Hospital

of Philadelphia, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 6 Dec. 2018,

https://www.chop.edu/news/health-tip/how-too-much-screen-time-affects-kids-eyes.

Accessed 17 November 2019.

“Reasons Why We Don't Limit Screen Time for Our Kids.” Frugal Fanatic, 15 June

2016, www.frugalfanatic.com/reasons-why-we-dont-limit-screen-time/.

“Screen Time and The Childhood Obesity Epidemic.” Social Work Today, Great Valley

Publishing Co., Inc., www.socialworktoday.com/news/dn_041612.shtml.

 Jackson 10

Works Cited

Walton, Alice G. “How Too Much Screen Time Affects Kids' Bodies And Brains.”

Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 16 Apr. 2018,

www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2018/04/16/how-too-much-screen-time-affects-kids-

bodies-and-brains/#4036ccaf1549.