Our smart phone has become our “round the clock” companion. Don’t you keep it close almost all the time? Don’t you feel that it would be difficult to get through the day without your phone? In fact we hate it when our phone goes off even for an hour. Some might even start worrying. Needless to say, there is a lot, smart phones helps us with. They keep us online, connected and entertained. It is important to point out that smart phones have changed the way we access internet and benefit from the mini computers that they are. We are empowered as we access information and interact with everyone all the time, on the go. Above all its fun playing games, tweeting, managing our mails or Facebook likes, all at the same point of time. However, there is also a flip side to the smart phones, we carry and use, without giving a thought to the dangers it might pose. Following are the top ten dangers. I call them “dangers” coz they can be avoided if you use your smartphones a little smartly!
1. You and your behavior alterations.
The reason why this is at the number one spot is this: Your smart phone might be affecting your thought process, behavior and attitudes in a more negative and faster way than you think. It does that so subtly and secretly that it becomes difficult to identify and cope up with. It is not an exaggeration to say that smart phones have the power to influence most important decision making processes and choices. In effect it changes your personality, it changes you! Just a simple habit of posting “selfies”, a trend boosted by smart phones, has an effect on one’s self-image. Smart Phone addiction is a well-recognized condition, known to cause trauma and high level anxiety pangs. Addiction to remain online, compulsion to be active on social sites leads to low productivity and impacts the emotional health of the person. Constantly looking for something interesting on web, social sites and games inhibits ones emotional ability to focus on one topic for long. Its proven now that long hours of gaming makes you impatient, addicted and unproductive since you drain out so much emotional and mental energy on them. Long time effects may be worse, permanent and affecting the more subconscious layer of behavior. So keep your phone away for a while and enjoy all the other good things life has to offer.
2. Hurting your eyes.
Read this one carefully with eyes wide open, notice the small fonts and see the colors change! Well you will not see any color change here but you strain your eyes much more when you are playing or texting on your beloved phones. And since you have it all the time you strain your eyes all the time. The abrupt change in graphics, brightness and details while you are gaming is one of the main causes of chronic dry eye syndrome. Your sincere attempts to not to miss a single detail, makes your eyes bear a tremendous amount of reflexes, stress and dryness. Before the eyes can relax and recover there is a new job ready again within that screen that it’s sick of.
3. Disconnect
Surprise! Surprise! We can’t thank our phones enough, to keep us connected and online, but there is a definite disconnect that it brings along. As long as you are engrossed in your smartphones, you are disconnected from the immediate surroundings and ongoing events. Philosophically, you are disconnected from yourself! It may appear to be rhetorical at first but you will soon agree once you look at these stunning facts. About 20-25% of car accidents happening in US are attributed to smart phones. Walking or crossing the roads with distracted attention due to smartphones is now becoming a major concern. Children are at the maximum risks of such distractions and meeting accidents.
4. Lifestyle diseases.
Hyperactive to hyper stressed takes much less time nowadays, thanks to our phones. It is common to see teenagers and even adults exhausted of the long hours spent on smartphone, be it games or surfing net. It impacts the digestion, breathing rate and heart beat rate. Smart phones have become a new enemy to our sleep in terms of quality and time. Apart from that, the hours that otherwise might have been spent exercising, going out, getting fresh air in parks, interacting with your loved or even pets are all taken up by your smart phones. It’s hard to imagine all this making us healthy! Next time when you are consumed by your phone, take a break and breathe, breathe long and easy. You will at once feel the kind of stress it has relieved you from!
5. Posture related ailments.
There are many diseases resulting from wrong postures while working for long hours. Gazing into your phone for long time with neck bent and arms in a fixed position pose a serious health risk. Pain, muscle spasms and restlessness are just short term effects. In the longer run permanent or chronic diseases may occur. Cervical spondylitis, golfer elbow, chronic dry eye syndrome, stiffness in thumbs, neck and back are a few diseases occurring from habituated wrong postures of using smart phones. The typical head down and neck bent position while one is engrossed in their favorite games or chat should be consciously avoided.