The Effect of Technology on Adolescents

Tyler Sayers

UWRT 1102

4-24-17
 The Effects of Technology in Adolescents

In today's day, the vast majority (95 per cent) of eight to eleven year olds has accessed the

internet in the last four weeks, with almost all of those children having accessed the internet at

some point in their lives. This is not surprising seeing how our lives would be ravished if we did

not have technology, and the same goes for kids. Everyone uses technology everyday, no matter

if they choose to or not, it is all around us, from our cars, to our phones, to our correspondences,

everything we humans do is dependant on technology. As a child using technology was a way to

express myself through games and drawing software, but my question is, was that detrimental to

my health? One thing we take for granted in today's society is the technology we use every day.

Some things we don't consider are, what are the effects on our body, and what are the effects that

our children have to deal with due to their technology use as adolescents pertaining to blue light

and its effects on the eyes and brain. Also covered are the use of computers and their effects on

children's emotional state and focusing ability. All of these topics will go to show how the

overuse of technology is proven to create emotional and physical problems which need to be

addressed in the early stages of life rather than deal with the repercussions on the back end.

Over the past 5-10 years we have seen the landscape of the classroom changed. There

are no more blackboards and chalk. Now every classroom has a projector and students are more

connected than ever through laptops and tablets. This trickles down all the way to the most

elementary level. Teachers are using technology as an aid to teach their students easier and faster

and with more success than in the past. This means that even the youngest students are being

exposed to technology from a young age. It almost seems crazy that a toddler can understand

how to operate a phone and elderly people can not understand how to use it. All this goes to
show is that younger people are becoming super exposed to technology. It surrounds us in

everything we do. But no one is concerned about long term adverse effects of prolonged

technology use. Identifying these health risks and promoting awareness will help to eliminate

some of the problems that occur later in life.

A common way for children and teens to express themselves is to play games using

technology. Is this good? Well compared to lifestyles of families from 20 years ago this would

be odd and unusual, but in modern society this is found to be acceptable (Rowan). When a

child plays a game, by himself or with others, they use their brains power to make decisions in a

timely manner. These rapid decisions can make the brain work harder to produce the desired

result. in small amounts, when a child plays a game like this they will give their brain a much

needed workout, but in excessive amounts this can cause the brain to function incorrectly, Just

like any other strenuous activity, in short bursts it can be found to be helpful but in large

quantities it can be harmful. Some children find video games to be a way to express their feelings

and emotions in ways other than using social skills. This also helps children with mental

disabilities, such as ADD and Aspergers, build social skills through a game that is not real. Some

children find communicating with others face to face to be a problem, Games help them express

their feelings and desires in a non threatening way, because the worlds aren't real, there is no risk

to players lives or to others. This keeps them disconnected from the real world while playing, so

there is no effect on anything else. Other children prefer other games, some enjoy the FPS (first

person shooter) titles. These games are usually more graphic and intended for an older audience.

Kids still find a way to play these games and bypass the age requirement by getting their parents

to buy the games for them. One pro of these games is that when someone plays these types of

games not only do they have to move their character, they must triangulate for the other character
so they can shoot the other player. When you play your brain takes into account how fast the

other player is moving, which direction they are moving, if they are falling, all of these could

determine if the player is able to actually attack the other player. Typically good players will

have a .5 second reaction time when playing games like these, this allows them to rapidly make

decisions based on the rapid influx of information absorbed by the brain. Some children prefer a

game like Minecraft. Minecraft creates a world where you are entirely responsible for what

happens to your character. You have to build items to survive and not die in the game. The

game is comparable to playing with legos, in the fact that you build structures and create things

piece by piece. This coupled with the survival element of the game makes it something kids are

very fond of. While this game can provide lots of joy, it can also lead to players sitting in front

of a tv for hours at a time without taking any breaks. We know that using video games in

moderation is not a bad thing, but used too often it could have negative effects. A majority of

modern children play games that could help them with brain development. These games only

work if played in moderation, because in too large quantities, they could produce negative

effects. These effects can range from mental health issues to physical injuries to the eyes and

optic nerves.

When we use modern technology we typically stare at a screen that displays the

information, and the effects can be felt by some, headaches, eye aches and discomfort, but what

is really happening to our eyes might not be so clear. According to Elaine Kitchel M.D. from

the american printing house for the blind, when scientist studied Rhesus monkeys they subjected

them to high-intensity blue light, at 441 nm, for a duration of 1000 seconds. Two days later

lesions were formed in the Retinal Pigmented Epithelium (RPE) on the eyes of the monkeys.

These lesions consisted of an "inflammatory reaction accompanied with clumping of

melanosomes and some macrophage invasion with engulfment of melanosomes which produce

hypopigmentation of the RPE.(Kitchel) In laymans terms, the light created a clumping of little

small bumps that have a yellow tint to them. Over time our eyes develop a yellow tinge to them,

and this protects our eyes from the blue light, but in children, they have not developed this

yellow filter in their eyes. This can cause eye damage as well as headaches and other head

conditions affected by absorbing blue light. One way to effectively mitigate the absorption of

blue light in your eyes is to wear yellow tinted glasses that protect against blue light. Your eye

absorbs the light and when you wear the glasses, the glasses absorb the blue light so your eyes

don't have to. Even though most people don't always have headaches while using technology, it

is still good practice to limit the amount of absorption of blue light that your eyes can take on at

one time.

Another problem people have with light is that light-emitting diodes or LEDs are known

to give off very short distinct wavelengths, which can block the amount of the hormone

melatonin, which is created in the brain and promotes sleepiness. This in turn throws off your

circadian rhythm which tells your body when to go to sleep and when to wake up. When

preparing for bed after the sun goes down, many people read, browse the internet, or use social

media. With all of the great advances in Technology over the last 15 years you have the ability

to constantly fill your brain with information while sitting in your bed. The LED light produced

from the phone or tablet blocks the part of your brain responsible for making you tired, therefore

you don't feel it necessary to fall asleep. This is not good for school aged children because they

will have a hard time getting the average 8 hrs of sleep needed for adequate brain function the

next day. Also these children walk around tired and just look less satisfied throughout the day.

For school aged kids, they are required to be up before the sun most mornings, to get ready and
prepare for the day. High school students in the local area, get up at roughly 5:30a.m. or in some

cases earlier. So when these kids don't go to sleep until the wee hours of the morning

they put themselves at a disadvantage in the academic sphere.

Over the past 10 years there has been a rapid growth in technology and the amount of

technology in society. This has led everyone to be more connected and more in touch with

technology. Every action has repercussions and the repercussions from the overuse of

technology are yet to be seen. But we can begin to see the warning signs early. Cases of Carpal

Tunnel have been on the rise since 2007. There is no definitive link to technology. But more

people using their handheld devices are a major contributing factor to people developing hand

conditions. The physical effects are not the only only problems facing future generations. Rises

in cases of ADD and ADHD have been on the rise as well. Unlike the Carpal Tunnel case,

researchers have actually put in the time to link technology with the rise of these mental

conditions. Not only will doctors be trying to battle cases of patients with mental conditions, but

physical ailments, such as optic damage or joint problems. There needs to be an emphasis placed

on limiting technology use among children, due to the health risks later in life. We need to

protect the younger generations from doing irreversible damage to their bodies.

Bibliography -
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Kitchel, Elaine. "The Effects of Blue Light on Ocular Health." The Effects of Blue Light on

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