Addiction To Technology

Addiction To Technology

Addiction to Technology
Technology has become an integral part of our lives.   From the moment we get up we check our email, read our Facebook messages, and reply to unread text messages; all in a matter of seconds.   For some people technology has over taken over their lives.   Addiction to technology is a serious problem.
It’s nearly impossible to sit at a restaurant and not see a half dozen people looking at their cell phone.   At times, you can see two people sitting across from each other and both are on their cell phone.   I was at lunch the other day with three co-workers and all three of them at the end of our meal were on their cell phone.   I managed to snap a picture of all of them on their phone.
But what is technology addiction?   Technology addiction has been described as being similar to many other types of addiction.   Having the urge to get on your laptop or look at your Facebook via your cell phone.   If you can’t control your urge to use some sort of technology has been described as having an addiction.   Some studies have even said that technology is similar to drug cravings.   In a Reuters report, “researchers at the University of Maryland, who asked 200 students to give up all media for one full day, found that after 24 hours many showed signs of withdrawal, craving, and anxiety, along with an inability to function well without their media and social links.” (Siew, 2010)  
Technology addiction has even ruined relationships.   Some use it as a way to have an emotional relationship with someone they met online.   Sites such as AshleyMadison.com has promoted online cheating and I read somewhere that SecondLife.com, which was used for many years as virtual classroom for schools, has a whole area dedicated for sexual related themes.   People would spend over eight hours online - some even days logged on the site.   They only way we can control our technology addiction is by limiting the amount of time we use it.  
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