There is no doubt that technology, understood as the Internet, PCs, televisions and smartphones, has changed habits around the world irrespective of ethnicity or social class. But just how big has its impact been? There are those who highlight its negative side, focusing on “technological imposition” especially with the web and TV, while others sing its praises for having reduced the distances between people.
Below we try to shed some light on the debate by looking at both points of view.
Technological innovation: the negative effects on children and memory
Limited memory: today’s technology produces an excess of stimuli that tends to “drain” our brain’s capacity, resulting in possible attention deficits or short-term memory issues.
Cognitive deficits in children: up to the age of 4 a child is still developing cognitive skills such as language and motor coordination. Overexposure to smartphones, tablets or TVs at this stage of their life could delay development.
Sleep problems: surfing the net late in the evening, just like falling asleep in front of the TV, cause overstimulation of the brain that could disturb the regularity of the sleep cycle or even make it more difficult to fall asleep and, in the long run, cause insomnia.
Social media addiction: especially for young people, social networks have a strong effect on the psyche by inducing a compelled “need” to seek approval from the digital community
Technology is also positive: it helps reasoning and can also help you relax
Stimulation of reasoning: if the internet is used actively to search for information in a selective and sensible way, then it serves as a stimulus that improves our brain functions.
Dopamine release: every time we do an activity we love the brain releases dopamine, a substance that generates feelings of well-being. Using technology, as long as it is in moderation and not because we fee compelled to do so, may be one of those activities that stimulates this release. Let’s think, for example, of the great feeling when communicating with a loved one who is on the other side of the world.
Improvement in problem solving skills: the fact of interfacing with technological tools that are “new” or in any case “unrelated” to our usual way of behaving forces the mind to adopt ways of reasoning designed to identify new and original solutions.
Relaxation: if not too much, a little time spent in front of the TV or enjoying social networks after a hard day helps us “disconnect” from the daily grind . Stress is actually linked to the inability to “move” one’s thoughts from a fixed spot which, in the long run, tends to wear us down.
Combine technology and fun with Tribe!
Technology’s impact varies depending on how it is used, but there is no doubt that choosing accessories that make us happy can only be a positive thing. The Tribe team has some suggestions for you: click here to find a solution to combine hi-tech and fun: USB flash drives, cables, earphones, chargers, and much more, all faithfully inspired by our favourite characters from cinema and comics!
