The Negative Effects of Technology on Society

You are scrolling through your phone, depressed, as usual, unaware of the fact that the pounding headaches, nightmares, and suicidal thoughts are just the effect of what might as well be the deadliest thing on earth: the device we hold in our hands, cradling as if it is a newborn baby. Almost all of the 7 billion people on earth practically depend on our torturous devices more than we depend on oxygen. Technology is dreadful for our world because it isn't safe, it can lead to mental disorders, and many people are cyberbullied on it.

First of all, technology is atrocious, because it is not safe. Imagine coming home, to find the only trace of your daughter is a note saying the four words that will send your words to a crashing end. Goodbye, I met someone. While to many of us, this is just a nightmare we have in bed, Unfortunately, that is not the case for many Americans, as many teens run away from home each day, to meet this ‘magical’ person they have met online. While it may seem like you and your new online friend, go together like two peas in a pod, this new ‘friend’ could be anyone from a serial killer to a rapist to a kidnapper. In addition, nearly three-quarters of Americans have been a victim of some sort of cybercrime. You could be smiling one minute, scrolling through your Instagram feed, then be soaked in tears of rage, the second you see someone is pretending to be you, and this isn’t because they see you as there queen and want to be like you, but they see you as prey, easy to pick apart the perfect victim. You could be at work, going through your emails to see millions of new messages popping up in front of your face, threatening you, and saying things about you that are such private matters, only 2 of 7 billion people know about it. You could be out at dinner with your friends when out of the blue, your husband texts you asking why you are in so much credit card debt when you haven’t used your card for years. These are experiences that are hardly uncommon to technology users in the USA. Whether you are a victim of tech-related kidnapping, sexual assault, identity theft, online stocking, or fraud, it all goes to show that technology is incredibly dangerous.

In addition, technology is awful because it can lead to mental disorders. Studies show that around 30 million people in America alone, struggle from eating disorders; That’s a fact we cannot deny, nor prove wrong. However, what is also a fact, is something so few people know; At least half of these dreadful disorders areskas9o fueled by social media. We scroll through TikTok practically looking for women with the perfect bodies we love and crave, picking apart our bodies at the same time. Our eyes sparkle as we look at the new girl’s abs, her skinny legs, her beautiful face, then we look in the mirror a second later, and the next thing we know, we are in a flood full of tears, screaming at ourselves for being so ugly. All we want is to be like them, to be so glamorous and perfect, that we won’t have to skip lunch for the day to lose weight. In addition, over 210 million people worldwide suffer from technology addiction. Every text message, every notification, every call, is just an excuse to check our phone. At the time it just seems like one more hour, but beneath that extra hour is precious, valuable time, wasted because we just couldn’t be separated from our dear device; During the few seconds, we are away from our beloved cellphone, our heart pounds, as the thing we need to breathe has been separated from us. Unsurprisingly, teens who spend more than or around five hours on their cellphones, are more likely to have depression. We spend so much time on our device; We are completely oblivious to our basic human needs. Those few hours a week away from the most powerful thing on earth, are filled with tears, wishes for a better life, and suicidal thoughts. Unfortunately, one of the biggest causes of mental disorders is the thing we hold dearest to our hearts, that torturous device.

Finally, technology is horrible because many people are cyberbullied on it. While many people may say that the internet is fabulous because they are given the opportunity to make new friends and connect with people online that they have known in person before, There is a lot of people who do not exactly get to make new friends but meet new people who will soon make their life a living hell. According to a recent study, 37% of the entire population on planet earth feels like they have been bullied online, at least once in their lifetime. Imagine checking your social media, only to find words that will make your eyes burn with tears, your hands won’t stop trembling for hours because a person you didn’t even know existed went out of their way just to make your life a living purgatory. Tiktok, for example, which has over 800 million users worldwide, is where so many people can comment on your videos, telling you things about you that will make you crumble beneath the surface of the earth. Fortunately for 63% of the population, we have not experienced this pain before, but one day we will log on to our beloved device to see this malicious context. Also, it’s not just adults who are cyberbullied, but millions and millions of children have experienced this dreadful experience. Unfortunately, this is something that so many people have gone through, and it just goes to show that technology is nowhere near as perfect as it may seem.

We spend so much time dwelling on all the superb benefits of the technology, without recognizing the countless hours we have spent crying our eyes out because of these devices. Sadly, the past is something that we cannot change nor fix, but we can look forward to the future. So, go home today and rethink how much and how you use your technology and set limits for yourself. Together we can make the internet a much safer and friendlier place.