8 Major Negative Effects of Technology on the Brain

Various scientific research shows frequent use of technology in our daily lives has a significant impact on the human brain.

These impacts can be negative as well as positive. However, in this article, we will focus on the negative aspects of technology only.

Technology has penetrated our daily lives. Today it is said that it takes three people to raise a kid, mom, dad, and YouTube.

People may think this is normal and there is nothing to worry about. But this is a technology invasion and we must do something about it.

In order to spread awareness among the younger generation and parents, I jotted down 8 negative effects of technology on our brain.

Here are they …

Technology Addiction

Some of the most common forms of technology addiction are Gaming addiction, Social Media addiction, Online Gambling addiction, Pornography addiction, Online shopping addiction, and Digital addiction.

Excessive use of Technologies such as mobile phones and the Internet can cause technology addiction just like substance-use disorder or pathological gambling.

In simpler words, all kinds of modern technology are akin to drugs. You are simply hooked on to them.

Some of the most common symptoms of Internet addiction are inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity.

Among all other groups, students are more likely to be affected by technology addiction especially the internet.

Internet addiction is even more common among children who are younger and play multiplayer role-playing online games.

Anxiety, Impatience, and Depression

Technology addiction further causes mental disorders like anxiety, impatience, depression, and lack of attention among its users.

Anxiety is one common disorder that everyone goes through especially first-time internet users.

Social media platforms like Facebook where young impressionable minds go to make friends end up becoming overly anxious and impatient to meet their new friends.

Over-dependence on technology has reduced human-to-human contact to a large extent. This leads to isolation and subsequently depression among young people.

All these mental disorders caused by technology are directly linked to the functioning of our brains.

Adverse Impact on How Brain Thinks

One of the most negative impacts of technology has been the functioning of our brain.

Thinking is the main function of the human brain. But over-dependence on technology has led us to think less.

One great example is people have almost abandoned reading books. Now they watch TV and videos online. With smartphones, the whole encyclopedia is available at their fingertips. These types of information aids contribute to less work and processing by our brains.

When you read books you create images in your mind and learn how to imagine. But with the overuse of technology, you simply fail to develop your imagination power.

To sharpen your brain and improve memory you can rehearse some of the best brain exercises like meditation, reading books, drawing, solving crosswords, math workouts, Sudoku, etc.

Such exercises will stimulate your brain and make it more powerful to comprehend and analyze things in personal and professional lives.

Negative Impact on Cognitive Development

Increased use of technology adversely affects cognitive and brain development, especially among children.

Younger children who are always hooked on mobile phones suffer from poorer language development and executive functioning.

Various research has shown that more screen and less reading time results in decreased brain connectivity between regions controlling word recognition and both language and cognitive control.

Increased use of technology also leads to decreased integrity of white matter pathways necessary for comprehension.

Neuroscientists around the world are deeply concerned about the cognitive and brain development of the present generation of children.

Impaired Emotional and Intelligence Quotient

Playing video games or working digitally online could restrict the ability to recognize emotions conveyed through facial expressions.

Teens that don’t play video games online have more opportunities for face-to-face interactions with their friends. This would improve their ability to recognize nonverbal emotions and other social behaviors.

But kids that are over-exposed to technology had greatly reduced emotional and social intelligence.

Similarly, technology also affects IQ adversely. Students don’t want to analyze and ponder anymore. Everything is available at their fingertips. Take the example of Google. Today information is available in a short span and this affects students’ critical thinking and reasoning capabilities, hence lowering their IQ.

Grey Matter Shrinkage

Grey Matter is an area inside the brain that is home to neural cell bodies, axon terminals, dendrites, and nerve synapses.

When young people are exposed to explicit content like pornography, gaming, 3D movies then there is a loss or shrinkage of tissues in gray matter areas of the brain.

The volume loss can affect executive functions such as planning, organizing, prioritizing, and impulse control.

Due to grey matter shrinkage kids are becoming more and more violent and committing socially unacceptable behaviors.

In developed countries like the USA, we have already seen the negative impact of violent video games and 3D movies.

Cell Phones can Cause Brain Cancer

2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th generation cell phones emit radiation in the radiofrequency range of 0.7 – 2.7 GHz. But fifth-generation emits in the range much higher up to 80 GHz.

Although this frequency range is very well below the danger zone still it can affect our brains.

Some of the adverse health effects of wireless radiation on humans can be metabolic disturbances, apoptosis and necrosis, sensory disorders, sleep disorders, and precancerous conditions.

Cancer is the most common disease caused by cellular radiation. This is why 5G technology is highly controversial in many countries.

Insomnia, Eyestrain, Headaches

The adverse effect of technology on the brain can cause other serious physical disorders like Insomnia, eye strain, and severe migraine.

Excessive use of technology in adolescents can cause sleep disturbances, poor sleep quality, and increased nighttime awakenings.

Daily bright screen exposure can disrupt circadian rhythms making it harder to sleep.

It also affects our eyes. Digital eyestrain can include blurred vision, dry and puffy eyes.

Finally, sleep disorders combined with eyestrain can cause headaches and serious migraine issues.

Increased daily screen time, screen glare, and brightness can cause all of these problems, especially in the younger generation.

Some other physical issues that may arise are poor sitting posture, neck pain, backache, obesity, diabetes, etc.

Conclusion

In concluding remarks I would like to say too much use of technology can adversely affect your mental and physical well being especially if you are a kid or a teenager.

Don’t allow yourself to suck into the murky world of the internet and social media. Set a daily time limit and enjoy socializing with your friends and family members.