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Lily Williams

Mr. Taylor

English II Honors

24 May 2019

Technology Overuse

Eight in ten Americans rely on cell phones daily (Chansanchai). Although technology can

be very helpful, it is becoming overused. People are neither happy nor healthy and technology

poses a big risk in regards to health and social life. To lower the amount of time humans spend

on technology, the solution is to advertise the harm of using technology so much and provide

examples of other things to do. This will make people happier and healthier.

Technology is relied on daily by so many individuals all around the world and is leading

to major issues. This problem of the overuse of technology is causing people to become over

connected. Adults rely on technology throughout their days at work and in normal, everyday life.

Children who are too young to be exposed to devices are getting used to having it. The “blue

light” from screens interferes with children's sleep cycles and causes straining to the eyes (Long).

Adults who overuse technology, and children who grow up having everything at their fingertips,

will experience many of the issues related to too much screen time.

Serious problems linked to the overuse of technology are not only social, but also health

issues. People become lazy, and laziness leads to obesity. Poor social skills come from being so

connected that humans often forget how to communicate in person. Developmental issues are

prone to children exposed to and that use technology at an early age. Humans become addicted

to their phones and can not put them down. According to Northwestern Medicine, some signs of
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tech addiction are increased use, inability to stop, withdrawal symptoms when not allowed

access to a device, risky behaviors, and lies. Overuse causes psychological, social and overall

health problems. Examples of these psychological issues are distraction, instant gratification, and

narcissism. Social problems include deficits in social skills, sense of isolation, and depression.

The following are overall health issues caused by too much exposure to technology; vision loss,

hearing loss and neck strain (“Health”). Although people think that they are happy looking at

screens constantly, technology makes humans depressed. If this problem is not ceased, as

generations continue, it will get worse and worse. Society will become so disconnected that

people never talk in person and everyone will be controlled by technology.

​A good solution to decrease the usage of technology is to show people all the issues that

it causes and provide them with other things to do in their free time. These changes will cause

technology use to drop, there will be more human interaction, and less social and health issues.

This will be achieved through advertisements of the down sides to so much technology use, and

show all the other things you can spend your time doing rather than stare at a screen. Some may

argue that there are obstacles that would keep this solution from working such as people not

paying attention to them, or the ads not being influential enough. These will be assured to not

happen by showing the advertisements everywhere and including popular trends and people to

influence the public to decrease their tech use.

Making these changes will better the lives of so many people. Technology is slowly

starting to take over everything. This solution will make people want to do more in life and make

changes in the world. This will result in a better future and there will be much less dependence
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on technology. Take a break from tech and encourage your friends and family to lay off too.

Happier people with healthier minds will make this world a better place.
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Works Cited

Chansanchai, Athima. “8 In 10 Americans Depend on Cellphones.” ​NBCNews.com​,\

NBCUniversal News Group, 15 Aug. 2011,

www.nbcnews.com/technolog/8-10-americans-depend-cellphones-121536​.

“Health and Technology.” ​Digital Responsibility​, 2019,

www.digitalresponsibility.org/health-and-technology

Long, Jennifer. “Physical Effects of Overusing Technology.” ​WGME​, 12 Feb. 2018,

www.wgme.com/news/in-depth/physical-effects-of-overusing-technology​.

Northwestern Medicine. “Technology Overuse and Addiction.” ​Northwestern Medicine,​ 2019,

www.nm.org/conditions-and-care-areas/behavioral-health/technology-overuse-and-addict

ion​.