Technology is a very beneficial thing in our lives that improves our lives in a multitude of ways and it is constantly developing and evolving in order to better aid us and our world. But it is a new concept and a fast-developing thing. We don’t know all of its effects and how it will impact our lives moving forward. It is a two-way street in many ways because it both brings us together and pushes us apart. It is up to you and how you monitor your access to technology because that is what determines the impacts. Today, we will discuss social media and gaming and their impacts. Examples of Technology: - Social media (Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter) - Video games - FaceTime, Skype and other forms of long-distance calling - Google and other search engines - Devices (tablets, phones, laptops)
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With Yourself Technology can help your relationship with yourself because it gives you access to support groups, mental health resources, and education that you can use to improve yourself and your abilities. It also provides you with entertainment and reduces isolation because it allows you to connect with the outside world and see what the world has to offer you. Learning about the outside world broadens your worldview and teaches you about how you can become a better person which improves your self-confidence and esteem. Technology gives us access to support groups and helplines specifically designed to aid us with our mental health. Sometimes, going in-person to a therapist or a counsellor may seem scary or embarrassing, but these forms of communication allow people to share their stories and receive help in whatever form they desire. For example, KidsHelpPhone allows you to text, call, or message in order to relieve the stress of contacting them. To add, because you can stay in contact with the people you love, it improves your mental health because you don't feel isolated or forgotten. Also, video games and other technology entertainment are a great way to pass the time and maybe a way that people seek comfort or relaxation which would improve their relationship with themselves. With Others Technology is really good for your relationships with others because it allows you to connect with people from all over the world and keep in contact with loved ones that may not live with you because you can text, call, and maintain a strong relationship. It builds trust and honesty thanks to consistent contact. Technology is a key reason why long-distance relationships can work because being able to communicate constantly helps to lessen feelings of insecurity and jealousy because it's like that person is with you. What's more, you can form really strong connections online with people who like the same shows or sports teams as you do and those online spaces create a safe space for you where you can be yourself. To add, video games and other forms of technology are a way for people to bond and form connections because of their love for that game which would improve their relationship with each other. However, you must keep in mind that this is what occurs when you have a healthy relationship with technology. Now you may be wondering, what does a healthy relationship with technology look like? Well, I've compiled a list of some signs that you have a reasonable online connection below: - you may spend some time online but you are not constantly on your device - you are able to prioritize schoolwork and chores over chatting online - you do not share private information with a stranger from online -you have other hobbies like painting or knitting that don't involve a screen -you have a good sleep schedule -you engage in physical activity and get fresh air regularly - you speak to people face to face and maintain personal relationships outside of the digital space With Yourself With Yourself Although it is valuable that we can talk with people online when we are separated, face-to-face communication is very important because it forms the strongest bonds and is the most powerful. Spending all of your time online has been known to lead to social anxiety and other mental health issues which would clearly have a terrible effect on your relationship with yourself. One example of this is that talking online causes people to stay very isolated and remain in their rooms. This negatively harms your relationship with yourself because you're stuck with your thoughts and worries all on your own which makes you feel even worse. What's more, social media and other forms of technology allow us all to share a highly edited version of both our lives and our bodies. But, the thing is, we’re not perfect. And when we see these seemingly perfect and “better” lives, it hurts our mental health a lot because we keep trying to achieve these unrealistic standards and failing to meet them. This leads to feelings of not being worthy and a lot of insecurity which decreases your self-esteem and makes you feel worse about yourself. I personally felt this insecurity a lot which led me to limit a lot of my social media usage because I wanted to improve my relationship with myself and this worked! Additionally, because of the nature of technology and how it’s designed to operate; it’s very addictive which causes many of us to lose lots of time and even more so: sleep. A lack of sleep has been scientifically proven to cause and worsen a bad mental state because your mind - just like your body- needs time to recharge. I know that in my own experiences, when I spend too much time online and disrupt my sleep schedule, I am very grumpy and a continuous pattern leads to me feeling quite unmotivated. Additionally, having an unhealthy relationship with technology will lead to a decline in your physical health (like eyesight, back pain, and muscle loss) which will make you feel insecure and make you feel depressed and upset. Another issue is that when people are hiding behind a screen, they feel bolder and act more cruel. And, the thing about cyberbullying is that we can’t escape it. You can’t come home and find solace because we take this technology with us at all times and people can constantly make new accounts to harass you further. To add, stalkers and creeps feel emboldened to continue their harassment when they’re online. This can lead many victims to feel trapped which leads to anger, sadness, and anxiety. Unfortunately, I know this personally because one of my close friends experienced this issue a couple of years ago and it caused her to be very withdrawn, irritable, and sad. Thankfully, we were able to deal with this issue but not everyone is so lucky. When you are in a spot like that, you have a really bad relationship with yourself because you feel ashamed, drained, and depressed. With Others As people can become very addicted to technology and the life they live on there, it puts a lot of distance between loved ones as we are all stuck on our screens and don't spend a lot of quality time around each other. This puts a strain on these relationships and can lead to a lot of fighting and arguing. It also means activities like cheating and online behaviour can be easily hidden which breeds distrust, dishonesty, and betrayal (all signs of an unhealthy relationship). The constant lack of faith in your partner or the other person in the relationship will sour the relationship and will lead to a lot of volatility and abuse because you're both so suspicious of each other. To add, if you're obsessed with technology and the life you have online then it will make it hard to form true connections that will last all that life will throw at you. Also, if you're addicted to social media or technology then you will feel very competitive to an extreme point therefore there will be a lot of volatility and arguing because you both define your worth by that online world and not what you can do in the real world. How Do You Know if You Have an Unhealthy Relationship with Technology? - you spend more time online than you spend in the real world - you can't go a day without being online and interacting with others - you share private information with strangers online - you lose or have a decrease in your social skills because you haven't talked to people in person - you neglect schoolwork and other responsibilities in favour of technology - you lose a lot of sleep because you're just online - you live another life online that is highly edited and not realistic - you are isolated in this online world and don't maintain real relationships with other people With Others As people can become very addicted to technology and the life they live on there, it puts a lot of distance between loved ones as we are all stuck on our screens and don't spend a lot of quality time around each other. This puts a strain on these relationships and can lead to a lot of fighting and arguing. It also means activities like cheating and online behaviour can be easily hidden which breeds distrust, dishonesty, and betrayal (all signs of an unhealthy relationship). The constant lack of faith in your partner or other person in the relationship will sour the relationship and will lead to a lot of volatility and abuse because you're both so suspicious of each other. To add, if you're obsessed with technology and the life you have online then it will make it hard to form true connections that will last all that life will throw at you. Also, if you're addicted to social media or technology then you will feel very competitive to an extreme point therefore there will be a lot of volatility and arguing because you both define your worth by that online world and not what you can do in the real world. How Do You Know if You Have an Unhealthy Relationship with Technology? - you spend more time online than you spend in the real world - you can't go a day without being online and interacting with others - you share private information with strangers online - you loose or have a decrease in your social skills because you haven't talked to people in person - you neglect schoolwork and other responsibilities in favour of technology - you loose a lot of sleep because you're just online - you live another life online that is highly edited and not realistic - you are isolated to this online world and don't maintain real relationships with other people Like we discussed, long-distance communication is a big benefit of technology because it allows us to connect with people all around the world and especially our loved ones despite the distances between us. This communication is easy and it is instant which helps to strengthen those relationships. It also gives us access to information in the form of Google and other search engines which gives us access to education/tutorials. This means we are able to learn new things and develop ourselves on our own. What's more, technology allows us to order groceries, take money, or buy items like clothes online without ever needing to leave our homes which is convenient and needed during this pandemic. Speaking of convenience, we are able to work from home and attend online school thanks to technology which is a huge benefit because it allows us to continue to develop and opens up job opportunities that are more accessible and beneficial to the public. Additionally, it gives us access to entertainment in the form of video games, shows, books, and more which is a very fun and resourceful thing as we are able to pass the time with joy. Moreover, virtual Dr. visits and access to mental health resources offer us health resources that are easier to access and are less intimidating which means more people will be willing to get help. Also if you can't pay for help then those resources would really help your mental health for free. Lastly, technology connects us with people all over the world which means we are able to send funds around the world (GoFundMes) and bring awareness to different global issues (like the BLM Movement) which means we can improve our world and demand the change we need to see in the world. Technology made our lives more difficult because it puts distance between us and our loved ones because we are all distracted by our individual devices. Technology also causes us to neglect our responsibilities because we're so easily distracted and obsessed with our online worlds which also leads to the decline of our relationships as we forget to pay attention and maintain them. What's more, this will lead to a lot of bad grades in school and job losses because we're neglecting those things we need to do in favour of technology. Our social skills are decreasing because of technology due to the decrease in face-to-face communication and this makes it hard for us to communicate as we are not used to not hiding behind a screen. To add, we can become addicted to those devices and apps which once again ruins many of our relationships because we choose to maintain this addiction instead of paying attention to those around us and what we need to do. This addiction will lead to negative effects on our physical health in the form of our eyesight, posture, back pain, deficiencies and muscle loss as we are cooped up inside and crouched over. This also includes a lack of proper sleep because you're staying up to stay on your devices. A lack of proper sleep has a direct correlation to the decline of your mental health as well. And, technology brings danger in the form of cyberbullying, cat-fishing, porn addiction, and much more as people are more bold and cruel when they're hiding behind a screen. Moreover, there's no escape from this mean behaviour as technology follows us everywhere and people can make new accounts to keep harassing you. Speaking of harassment, there are a lot of danger and privacy issues with technology because people share private information that can be used against them and their accounts can be hacked. Lastly, because technology is fake and edited so often, mental health issues are very prominent as we are constantly comparing ourselves to unrealistic standards that we will never meet. This leads to feelings of depression, insecurity, and isolation. Here are some tips to help you make sure that the relationship you have with technology is healthy and beneficial. Remember, these habits will take time to develop; you just need to stick with them. - set limits for your social media apps so that you don't spend too much time online and feel even more insecure - make sure that you have a half-hour or hour before bed that you can use to relax and unwind from technology - leave your devices in the other room or at least away from your bed so that they are not the first thing you pick up in the morning - make a point to go outside daily and get some sort of exercise every day - take constant breaks from technology - pick up some creatively stimulating hobbies like crocheting or painting - meet up constantly with friends and family in person so that you can maintain those relationships - try yoga to help you relax and disconnect - set a limit for how long you'll spend playing video games or other online games so that the day doesn't get away from you - set a to-do list and a rewards system of things you must do before you go online to keep you accountable |