Many human beings now spend more time each day staring at screens than they do sleeping. The effects of this are just beginning to be seen and the forecast for long-term harm is alarming. As we become more knowledgeable, we will certainly adapt and evolve both the technology itself and the way we utilize it. People across the planet are working to address these issues to protect the health of our society. But it will take time and there will be obstacles from those who fear losing freedom or profits. In the meantime, there are things we can do on an individual level to help protect the health of ourselves and our loved ones.
AREAS OF CONCERN
- INTERNET PORN: Internet pornography is a multi-billion-dollar industry that thrives off human instincts and innocents. With just one click a child can be traumatized emotionally and left with a negative perception of sex, love, relationships, and their body. Adults are losing their ability to have real-life pleasure because of virtual world passion and people are suffering.
- VIOLENCE AND VIDEO GAMES: An individual diversion that started with silly cartoon animals (think PacMan, Qbert, DonkeyKong) has evolved into a full social immersion where children are rewarded for behaving in explicitly violent ways that would be considered deranged and criminal in the real or physical world (think COD, GTA, Mortal Kombat). Games are intentionally created to addict users with techniques borrowed from the highly profitable gambling industry.
- DIGITAL DISORDERS/ADDICTION: Though professionals debate terminology, the reality is that people’s lives are changing because of our relationships with screens. Chemical bursts in our brains and subsequent feelings of pleasure are causing many to spend increasing amounts of time with their electronic devices often ignoring negative consequences and important responsibilities in the offline world.
- OTHER CONCERNS: Sitting and staring are changing more than just our minds, our bodies are being affected as well. A whole new system of symptoms and syndromes are being identified and diagnosed with links to internet use including an obesity epidemic, computer vision syndrome, and repetitive use disorders.