This topic was not actually discussed in class, but I did write about it in one of my journals- “What is the biggest problem your generation faces?” I believe I put addiction to electronics, and then I proceeded to write about how it affects your health and the world around you. But what I didn’t talk about was how we could stop the decay of these things. We all know that many of us probably find it impossible to give up electronics for the rest of our lives or even an extended amount of time, so what things can we do that actually seem possible to us ?
First, we first need to know how electronics affect everything, starting with you, the person using one right now. The average human has nine hours of screen time each day- from television to cellphones, and from laptops to tablets. Every minute you stare at a screen, slowly, your eye strain increases, causing headaches, and your blinking rates decrease, resulting in dry eyes. The blue-light emitting from your electronic’s screen is also damaging to your eyesight, increasing your chances of having long-term vision problems.
Besides vision problems, electronics also cause environmental problems. When a phone is not recycled but instead thrown into a landfill, it releases lead, mercury, and cadmium into the land around it. These elements destroy the soil and poison surrounding water for the incoming years. If we’re not careful of the placement of our landfills, we could destroy and pollute fresh-water sources (ie. aquifers and lakes), which has been done several times in the past. We could also damage any nature in the area that absorbed the cellphone’s chemicals and also be killing any nutrients the soil holds, making it even harder for life to regrow in the future.
I see the impact electronics has made everywhere, from my 4-year old cousin who know how to use a phone better than speaking, from my sibling who would rather play video games than go out with his family, and even from myself who stays up till 3 in the morning, squinting at her phone. The impact electronics have on the modern-day world can be seen everywhere if you look close enough, so do what you can to decrease these effects. I don’t disagree with something I saw one doctor said: the best thing you can do is walk away. You can help your eyesight by walking away from your electronic, even if it’s only for ten minutes. This allows your eyes to take a break and rest. You can also glance away from your screen every now and then, use a blue-light filter on your device, and make the text you’re reading bigger. To help with the environmental downsides of having electronics, you can, and should, recycle your devices. Dispose of them the right way and you can prevent soil damage and water pollution. Something you can do that’ll have an even greater effect is waiting until you NEED a phone to buy one. So many people want the newest, latest phone when their current one is only a couple months old! You can save money and decrease the production of cellphones, ultimately saving limited resources and energy.
Sources:
http://www.healthpointchc.org/news-calendar/blog/is-too-much-electronic-use-bad-for-your-health
https://www.theodysseyonline.com/impact-technology-younger-generation
https://www.moneycrashers.com/are-we-addicted-to-consumer-electronics/
https://www.everydayhealth.com/healthy-living/how-technology-is-hurting-your-eyes.aspx