It is incontrovertible that modern life is a many-faceted compilation of developing technology. Despite the fact that the aim of technology development is to serve humans’ living, digital devices have also exposed their prejudicial impacts on many aspects of our lives, especially our health. Since the youth of today are the leaders of the future, their health problems are more concerned. Many researches have been conducted in order to find out the impact of technology on their health as well as their well-being. While some people argue that technology should not be used in schools due to its recent bad effects on their health,I totally don’t agree with that. This essay firstly lists out 3 main health issues which caused by modern technology, the misunderstanding about those issues then focuses on the reasons why technology is essential for schools.
That many aspects of ill-being are linked with technical applications is what people bear in their mind. Firstly, concerns have been raised that as time spent on digital technology increases, time spent on physical activity is reduced, which might be a contributing factor to a child and adolescent obesity and physical health problems (Kautiainen et al., 2005).
Secondly, the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project (2012) published the current debate on how the rapid growth of technology will affect our health: ‘Millennials will suffer due to their hyper-connected lives’. They found that 92% of teens surveyed in the United States report going online daily, with 24% saying they go online“almost constantly” (Lenhart, 2015[30]). Furthermore, statistics from the United States suggest that youth between the ages of 8 and 18 spend on average seven and a half hours per day engaging with media content (Rideout et al., 2010[32]). This time of usage is a lot higher than the screen-time recommendations of many countries.. Subsequently, more than nine out of 10 people use devices for two or more hours each day suffer from digital eye strain.
Thirdly, not only does our physical but also our mental health suffer due to modern technology. Extensive technology usage has been proved to cause stress, anxiety, and depression in any group of age (Rosen et al., 2014).
However, concerns about the quality of these studies and the negative focus which much of the literature are raised. Therefore, results must be interpreted with caution and the possibilities for positive outcomes associated with technology use taken into consideration and here are some explanations (OECD,2019). Regarding to the physical health issue, Lannotti and colleagues (2009) found that an increase in screen time was associated with small reductions in several health indicators, such as physical health status, quality of life and family relationships. (UNICEF).
Additionally, according to Kautiainen’ s report conducted in 2005, only certain forms of technology were associated with higher obesity rates. Furthermore, only girls are associated with being overweight when watching television, no playing digital games’ effect is recored.
To understand deeper whether technology is the main the common causes of eye strain, we must take a look at what science says. Eyes strain is caused found from activities that require intense focus and concentration for long periods, exposure to bright lights, trying to see in dim lighting and poor accommodation (Shayla Wilson; MPH candidate , 2015). Which means that even reading a book with poor light condition in a long time can also cause eye strain.
When it comes to mental issue, some cross-sectional studies have found a positive association between both internet and mobile phone use and self-reported feelings of depression (Kim et al., 2010; Bezinovic et al.,2015; Ikeda and Nakamura, 2014). For children with low-quality friendships, spending their time socializing with others online leads to a decrease in self-reported feelings of depression as socializing online increases the chance of receiving social support, which may otherwise not be available to those children.
Having been figuring out the misunderstand and gaining enough information that those issues are mostly caused by technology overuse and technology addiction, I believe people can learn how to use digital devices only for genuine purpose with conscious thought, they will benefit from it. Moreover, it is undeniable that technology plays an important role in various aspects of school education.
Moving back to previous years, The USA past presidents saw the need for fundamental change in education to keep American students in competition with technology with other students from around the world. In 1994. President Bill Clinton signed The Goals 2000: Educate America Act whose many parts involved technology and education. Then in 2001 and 2009, President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama pushed one step further with education and technology while they passed the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act and American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The aim of these acts is is to make full preparation for American students, who need to be prepared with a strong foundation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and will transfer this knowledge in their personal and professional lives, which will then also impact American society (Advisors on Science and Technology,2012)
Besides, it is also clear that the use of software for medical education is a highly successful way of creating a better environment for learning. This discovery is highly inspired at Dammame University, where Taradi and his colleagues (2005) have found that using the software has positively affected learning performance in acid-based physiology 17. It also added numerous advantages to the curriculum in aid of curricula. For example, a project-learning approach and technology tools offer students ways to approach experiments, observe phenomena and see results in graphics that can help them understand. Technology makes greater contribution to teaching and learning physiology than without such opportunities.
Technology also has a major impact on the quality of the performance for classroom teachers and links achievement as well as motivation in students.
