Do you remember the last time you waited for a ride on an actual bus stand? It must've been quite a while since there's already an app for modern day transportation. How about the last time you went for a walk to the post office just to send a mail for a loved one? Most of us don't even know the directions anymore, and we would rather chat online or send our letters via email. This is the new culture, the norm today, and it is already a lifestyle. It's more comfortable that's why we choose to live with it. Technology has greatly affected our lifestyle. Everything seems easier nowadays from sending letters, getting a ride or getting takeaway fast foods. All those services can no be done digitally.
We have evolved a lot in a span of 30 years and technology made our lives so much easier. Surely digital life has transformed the definition of the word 'convenience'. But with our technology today, how is 'too digital' unhealthy?
Physically Unhealthy
Most adults these days spend most of their time by interacting through digital media. As they say, everything today is accessible just by a flick of a finger. We no longer need to drop by our favorite fast food chain and take some time to decide what to take home for dinner. We just head straight home and rely on the services of what this digital technology has to offer. It is very convenient especially if we just came from long hours of work.
Yes, this is the privilege that we have to take advantage to reward ourselves at the end of the day but how is this physically affecting our health?
While science has a lot to say about this, let's just get into the obvious details. We no longer fall in line. We often take short distance walks. Whatever physical activity it used to require is no longer there. It made us physically inactive, but we don't realize it till we find ourselves catching our breath from sudden movements in a short period of time. That is just one example but the list goes on.
Emotionally Unhealthy
It was without a doubt exciting and overwhelming when we first experienced sending greetings with images via chat applications or through email. There are millions to choose from that would be applicable for different occasions. Receiving greetings via chat using fancy images or GIF seems is now very common. But does it feel the same way nowadays?
It's true that it is the thought that counts, but don't you miss getting actual greeting cards? Greeting cards that are personally hand-written by the sender? Don't you miss that emotional attachment that it leaves you as you hold and read a physical letter? It's slightly sad to see how digital technology changed that, but it is not too late for sure.
Nothing is wrong about taking advantage of what we can do with modern technology to ease our daily lives. We deserve convenience after long hours of stressing ourselves at work. What digital apps can provide and deliver for sure are amusing and useful. However, we must not forget about how using too much of it affects our mind and body. We have to identify the good and the bad in the benefits that we are getting from digital technology ourselves.