Negative Impact of Gadgets on Health
By : Raisya Fauziah Hudaya
HARIANGARUTNEWS.COM – In general, a gadget is a device or electronic device that is relatively small in size and has a special function and is practical in its use. Gadgets are not only in the form of smartphones, laptops, computers, tablets and the like are included in the types of gadgets that we usually use in everyday life.
Gadgets have functions and benefits that are relatively appropriate to their users. The general functions and benefits of gadgets include:
1. Communication
Human knowledge is increasingly extensive and advanced. If in ancient times humans communicated through the mind, then it developed through writing sent by post. Now in the era of globalization, humans can communicate easily, quickly, practically and more efficiently by using gadgets.
2. Social
Gadgets have many features and applications that are right for us to share news, updates and stories. So with this use you can add friends and build relationships with distant relatives without having to spend a relatively long time sharing.
3. Education
As time goes by, now learning is not only focused on books. However, through gadgets we can access various knowledge that we need. About education, politics, general science, religion, without having to bother going to the library which may be far to reach.
Nowadays, gadget users do not only come from working circles. However, almost all groups, including children and toddlers, use gadgets in the activities they do every day. Almost everyone who uses gadgets spends a lot of time every day using gadgets. Therefore, gadgets also have their own value and benefits for certain groups of people. However, there are many negative impacts that arise from using gadgets.
Although the majority of people use gadgets for communication, work or business matters, looking for information, or just for entertainment. However, excessive use of gadgets can have many negative impacts, especially on health. Not only physical health, but a person’s mental health can also be affected by using gadgets, especially excessively.
The negative impacts of gadgets include:
1. Vision problems
According to the 21st Century Repairs website, the negative impact of using smartphones for a long time can cause eye and vision problems. Some problems that can arise include tired eyes, redness, blurred vision, a burning sensation in the eyes, and even decreased vision due to focusing too much on the cellphone screen. Therefore, it is recommended to keep the distance between the cellphone and the eyes around 16 centimeters (cm) and reduce looking at the smartphone screen if it is not very important.
2. Disrupts sleep patterns
The bad impact of using gadgets late at night can disrupt your biological clock, especially if you are busy playing games or watching movies. This can make you miss sleep at night. As a result, your sleep pattern becomes disturbed and you lose adequate rest time.
Not only that, according to the American Optometric Association, exposure to blue light from screens at night can inhibit the work of the hormone melatonin. As a result, you will be more likely to suffer from insomnia.
3. Not focused
The next negative impact of using gadgets is that it makes you unfocused. The amount of information that is easily accessible via the internet on smartphones can distract your mind. As a result, you become less focused on work and daily activities that are actually more important. This condition can also happen to students, making them unable to focus on studying and being busy with information that is not useful.
4. Headache
Apart from having an impact on eye health, the light emitted from smartphones can also cause headaches. This condition can be made worse if your brain is overloaded when playing games continuously while changing applications. In severe cases, you are at risk of experiencing unbearable headaches, migraines, neck tension, anxiety, stress, and even depression.
5. Body posture that is not ideal
According to research from the Journal of Physical Therapy Science, using gadgets for too long has a negative impact on body posture. Gradually, your body becomes more bent, your neck becomes more forward, or your shoulders become curved. Not only does it interfere with your appearance, this change in body posture also has an effect on the smoothness of your breathing.
6. Injuries to muscles and ligaments
Furthermore, poor posture when using a device can cause excessive stress on the muscles and joints in the hands, fingers, neck and waist. If this habit continues for a long time, it can cause muscle pain, aches, and even joint injury. To prevent the negative effects of these gadgets, it is recommended to change positions and stretch when using this device for a long time.
7. Reduce interactions with people
Even though the presence of gadgets can make communication easier, if you use them too often it will reduce interactions in the real world. You will be too focused on cyberspace, communication with family and those closest to you will be reduced. Can form anti-social disorders indirectly if you get used to it, from childhood.
8. Cultivate an Egocentric Attitude
Children who often play with gadgets from an early age will trigger egocentric attitudes. This egocentric attitude is a bad attitude, especially in social environments. Excessive gadget users will get used to not caring about other people indirectly. Apart from that, there will be a lack of empathy for the environment. Of course this will be detrimental to you.
9. Triggers the Development of Consumerism
Another psychological impact, with the emergence of consumerist culture. This consumerism is related from an economic perspective and often occurs among today’s teenagers. So this is included in one of the psychological disorders in teenagers. Because its emergence also occurs from the continuous desire of teenagers to buy the latest gadgets and follow trends.
This can cause teenagers to live more wastefully, especially for operational expenses in the form of gadgets. This fee also consists of cell phone service, credit, gadget accessories and others. Able to influence lifestyle, be selfish and like to show off with his friends. This characteristic will damage the level of consumption and should not be possessed by teenagers who are still at school. Because children usually may not be able to choose one piece of information correctly.
The points above are only some of the impacts that will be obtained if you use gadgets excessively. Even though the negative impacts obtained look scary, we can minimize them by using gadgets in moderation. Only use gadgets for important purposes such as looking for material that is not in books, communicating with people who are far away, and so on.
Even though gadgets currently provide a lot of entertainment content that can entertain you when you are tired, you should still limit the duration of use. Don’t let us only realize the negative impact of gadgets when we are already experiencing several health problems as mentioned above.
The author is a SMKN student 2 Garut Class XI