Digital Devices and Well-being

To understand the severity of how digital devices can affect our well-being whether it be in a positive way or negative; it is important to understand how present we have made these devises a part of our everyday activities. Take a moment and think, cellphones are the most readily available device to a great percentage of people have one at their hands. These small devices that we all may take for granted, are what many of us use in our daily lives. Whether it be to be used as an alarm to wake up in the morning to check the time, make our daily agendas, and even to communicate with others in a much more fast and efficient way.

The following will discuss two ways how digital devices can affect our well-being when they are used in an extreme way. This includes how it affects us in a personal, and phycological way. Keep in mind the effects it has on our well- being is not limited to just these two. In the PowerPoint “Computer Devices and Sustainability,” it mentions four different pillars this includes economic, social, culture and environmental pillar. It is important to know the importance that these pillars have. It is what will help determine how digital devices can affect us.

We will investigate how these devices can affect our well-being in personal way. Our devices have technology that have allowed us to do things more efficiently than before. But in the digital world that we now live in we sometimes forget to take ourselves into consideration and care for us and with that have managed to misuse these devices that have allowed us to make life easier. The use of too much of a digital device can cause physical (in-person) interactions to decline.

According to a survey done by World Economic Forum, they mentioned how many people approve of technology when it comes to “their ability to learn and develop professionally.” However, the other one third mentioned how technology has affected them negatively in a personal way, this includes but not limited to “effects on long-term memory, attention span, the ability to find a partner, stress and health.” Along with that they not only questioned people but also different countries who also have different views on the effects of digital and technological devices. For example, China is one that agrees that digital devices have a positive impact in their quality of life while Germany and the United States where less on board with this idea.

Just how it affects us in a personal way these effects introduced by it such as stress can be liked to a phycological way it can keep affecting the well-being and health of a person. For instance, in “The Psychological Toll of the Smartphone” by Scott Sleek it talks about the death of Swisscom Chief Executive Carsten Schloter, and how it, “may represent an extreme result of the pressures that being constantly connected can create.” Sleek also states, that these devices are now creating a “new stress for people at home and in social settings.”

It mentions studies have shown that just by the fact that it is next to us as we sleep it interferes with our sleep. It states, “A multidisciplinary research team that included psychological scientist Russell E. Johnson, a management professor at Michigan State University, found that late-night smartphone use for work purposes interferes with sleep and leaves workers more depleted in the morning and less engaged at work the next day.”

This is just one way it can psychologically and personally affect our well-being. The way we use these digital devices is important to not misuse them because it can cause many problems that are not just restricted to the ones mentioned above. A misuse of these devices also includes how they are disposed of, and that can affect our environment, releasing toxic waste and in turn affecting our health. Which is why when it comes to handling these devices it is crucial to be away of how and for what they are being used.

Habits that can aid in minimizing the risks of an unhealthy well-being include handling situations in person, enjoying a conversation with a colleague in person rather than through email. This in my opinion can help in the both the personal and psychological aspects that were mentioned above. Not only does it provide a rawer form of communication but also helps to relieve the stress of not getting the point across or the fear of being misunderstood through an email. With this I am not saying we should just stop using these devices, because in my opinion these are devices that have allowed our society to bloom and continue to grow. But it is also crucial to know that living and growing up in a digital world does not mean that one must be on their devices 24/7. Rather, it is important to take a step back from all of this and enjoy life for what it is and maintain an equal balance between ones’ well-being and these digital devices that have become so important in our everyday lives.

Works Cited

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