Pay attention next time if you take a stroll through the park, go on campus, board the subway train or wait in line to get your daily coffee fill. Apart from the grandma and grandpa standing idly on the side, (though I can’t be 100% certain anymore) everybody else is hunched over some kind of electronic device – smartphones, tablets, or laptops. So focused on their Facebook newsfeed; making sure they haven’t missed the next what’s-on-your-mind wisecrack and vacation pics; or the latest developments of an earth-shattering love drama that one of their 2000 “friends” overshares with the virtual world.
I’m not trying to say that all of us are obsessed hunchbacks. But there is something disturbing in the way technology usurps our real life, as if online reality assumes the properties of the only legitimate hangout place.
That, however, comes with a price tag. In the long run, it could cripple your health, impair your social skills and permanently screw with the configuration of your brain. The last one sounds a bit far-fetched, but scientists have something to say about it.
Does technology contribute to obesity?
A study conducted by University of South Carolina Chapel Hill in 2012, and published by Obesity Reviews, seems to be certain on that point. Our physical activity is being reduced by the constant use of electronic devices because living online doesn’t require much effort. Only time and then more time. Research makes a grim prognosis: by 2030 our sedentary activities will occupy close to 42 hours per week, and that does not include your sitting at a desk at work.
America suffers an obesity epidemic. Some 73 million people, or one-third of US adults, are obese. The general perception is that among the factors influencing obesity rates are insufficient physical activity, over-use of technology, the downsides of urban lifestyle and easy access to cheap, fattening foods.
Fitness motivation vs technology
Here’s a paradox that would hardly surprise anybody. In the not so distant past, among the things that could send you running to the gym and working yourself out to exhaustion, was an upcoming date. If you wanted to impress somebody and present your better self, you would try to slim down or buff up.
Today, a survey commissioned by Life Fitness analyzed 745 online interviews and yielded interesting results. About 57% of gymgoers used their smartphones or tablets during their workouts, just like they use them in every other aspect of their everyday life. More than 70% of respondents under 30 said that they would work out more if they had better access to personal content while in the gym. There are fitness motivation apps out there that will actually help you manage your daily routine and remind you to exercise regularly. So it turns out that technology makes us inactive and overweight, but at the same time, people who exercise regularly say that technology helps them shed pounds faster, get fit, and build muscle. Gyms equipped with wireless have a better chance of attracting younger customers, too. Golden mean, anyone?
Are your social skills in the gutter?
Many would readily agree that most people of the Gen Y are somewhat awkward young adults. They may generate lots of “likes” and post commentaries all day long, demonstrating a wide scope of unsolicited personal opinions. It doesn’t mean, though, that when they are forced to communicate in person they display the same social poise. It seems that they struggle to maintain eye contact when they speak or even show any interest in a conversation. Well, it’s hard. Sometimes it takes more than 140 characters to express a thought and stay engaged in what other people are saying.
The power of imagination
Neuroscientists agree that our brains change under the impact of outside stimuli, in this case – the constant use of technology. They say that our human identity is endangered by the modern world. This would not be such a troubling discovery if it weren’t for the fact that our brain is easily affected by our everyday activities. Harvard Medical School carried out an experiment. They separated volunteers into three groups and put them in three rooms with a piano in each of them. The first group had to take rigorous lessons and learn to play the instrument in five days. The second had to stay in the room doing absolutely nothing, and the third had to imagine they were practicing the piano, playing. When their brain scans were revealed later on, the results were extraordinary. Obviously, the brains of the second group hadn’t changed at all, and there were some structural changes associated with finger movement in the first one. However, nobody expected to see the results of the third group: they displayed visible brain changes almost as strong as those of the learners.
The moral of the story: “the power of imagination” is not just a metaphor. What we do everyday leaves a pronounced mark on our brain which, in the long run, could alter our personality. So be careful.
