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Essay on Technology Addiction | Technology Addiction Essay for Students and Children in English

February 14, 2024 by Prasanna

Essay on Technology Addiction: Technology is something that is all around us in the digital era. Almost every device that is around us is an example of technology. Technology helps the person to work efficiently and effectively and also saves a lot of time. As technology makes work much easier and getting advanced, people are getting addicted to it. They have started trusting and relying on technologies for their professional and personal matters. In this essay, we will talk about how people are getting addicted to technology.

You can read more  Essay Writing  about articles, events, people, sports, technology many more.

Long and Short Essays on Technology Addiction for Students and Kids in English

A long essay of 450-500 words has been provided it is useful for students in classes 7, 8, 9, and 10. For the reference of students in Classes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, a short essay of 100-150 words has been provided.

Long Essay on Technology addiction 500 Words in English

Long Essay on Essay on Technology is helpful to students of classes 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12.

Technology is everywhere and around us. The thing that you put in your pocket while travelling, your mobile phone is the most prime example of technology. GPS navigation, computer, internet, fan, A/C, and every other device we use in our daily lives are also prime examples of technology. Without technology, life would be dull and hard. Nowadays, countries that have more advanced technologies are developing day by day.

It is observed in a survey that people can’t live without technology even a single day as they survive on cell phones. People get so addicted to technological devices that they are not able to work without them. Many companies and industries are dependent on these technologies to operate their functions and manufacture goods.

People are so addicted that they prefer to use their mobile phones to communicate rather than communicating face to face. This affects their mental health and also their relationship with friends and family. People spend lots of money on buying new technology as they have advanced and better features.

The Internet is the prime cause of addiction to mobile phones and computers. It was introduced as a medium to help people for searching for information and data but people started misusing the internet which results in addiction. People started spending hours and hours on mobile phones surfing the internet and watching online videos. Nowadays even children have to wear glasses because of weak eyesight due to continuously using mobile phones and computers.

If you sit in front of a computer for hours and hours then it will lead to many problems like weak eyesight, weight gain which increases the chance of cardiovascular diseases. If you talk too much on cell phones then because of their radiation, your eardrums can be damaged and there are also chances of brain tumours. The radiations that are released from mobile towers are very harmful to the body as they can increase the chances of cancer and other deadly diseases.

People are so dependent on technology that sometimes it becomes the reason for illness or stress in relationships. Some people misuse technology and steal data or money from people through social networking sites and other platforms. Thus, it is advised to stay connected to nature and other outdoor activities to keep yourself away from the adverse effects caused due to overuse of technological devices.

It should be kept in mind that video games, social media sites and the web are designed in such a way that they promote dependency on the internet and technology causing negative side effects to the adults and the youth. However, technology addiction can be cured by replacing the time spent online with healthy stress management, productive activities, building healthy relationships, practising creative skills and learning more through books.

Technology addiction is equivalent to addiction to drugs and it is advised to seek professional help for curing the situation. Or else the addiction could lead to dullness of the brain, anti-social behaviour, stressful relationships, effect on career and behavioural changes.

Short Essay on Technology Addiction 150 words in English

Short Essay on Technology Addiction is helpful to students of classes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6.

The technology was invented by human beings so that they can save time and money and also save energy for all the efforts they make but as time passed, it becomes an addiction for human beings, especially teenagers. Even small children can operate the phone and watch cartoons by themselves. Yes, it is rightly said that without technology, the world wouldn’t be developed but technology has a darker side too.

One of the most popular technological devices that is used by every person in the world is the mobile phones. People are so addicted to it that they won’t be able to spend even a single day without their mobile phones. With the introduction of applications like WhatsApp, Facebook, and other social networking and messaging apps, people started using mobiles quite frequently. People need to understand that addiction to technology is not good for their health and they should work on themselves or seek professional help.

10 Lines on Technology Addiction Essay in English

• People are getting dependent and addicted to technology.
• Technology plays an important role in the development of a country.
• Without technology, survival would be very difficult.
• One of the most common technologies used by everyone is mobile phones.
• The web allows people to interact, play video games and search for information.
• People spend most of the time watching movies and communicating via mobile phones.
• Overuse of mobile phones leads to many problems like damage to the eardrum, headache, and many more.
• People are now so addicted to these technological devices that they trust machines more than humans.
• It is very important to protect yourself and your loved ones from this addiction.
• Live a healthy life and use technology only for general purposes rather than overuse it.

FAQ’s on Technology Addiction Essay

Question 1. Why is technology important?

Answer: Technology is responsible for operating online effectively and efficiently. It saves time and money.

Question 2. What problems can occur because of technology addiction?

Answer: Technology addiction can lead to problems like weak eyesight, a decrease in mental capability, and many other problems.

Question 3. Why is the prevention of technology addiction important?

Answer: It is important to prevent this situation so that people can live a healthy life and socialize with others.

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Digital addiction: how technology keeps us hooked

Associate Professor in Computing and Informatics, Bournemouth University

Senior Lecturer in Psychology, Bournemouth University

Principal Academic in Psychology, Bournemouth University

Disclosure statement

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Bournemouth University provides funding as a member of The Conversation UK.

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The World Health Organisation is to include “gaming disorder” , the inability to stop gaming, into the International Classification of Diseases. By doing so, the WHO is recognising the serious and growing problem of digital addiction. The problem has also been acknowledged by Google, which recently announced that it will begin focusing on “Digital Well-being” .

Although there is a growing recognition of the problem, users are still not aware of exactly how digital technology is designed to facilitate addiction. We’re part of a research team that focuses on digital addiction and here are some of the techniques and mechanisms that digital media use to keep you hooked.

Compulsive checking

Digital technologies, such as social networks, online shopping, and games, use a set of persuasive and motivational techniques to keep users returning. These include “scarcity” (a snap or status is only temporarily available, encouraging you to get online quickly); “social proof” (20,000 users retweeted an article so you should go online and read it); “personalisation” (your news feed is designed to filter and display news based on your interest); and “reciprocity” (invite more friends to get extra points, and once your friends are part of the network it becomes much more difficult for you or them to leave).

Technology is designed to utilise the basic human need to feel a sense of belonging and connection with others. So, a fear of missing out, commonly known as FoMO, is at the heart of many features of social media design.

Groups and forums in social media promote active participation. Notifications and “presence features” keep people notified of each others’ availability and activities in real-time so that some start to become compulsive checkers. This includes “two ticks” on instant messaging tools, such as Whatsapp. Users can see whether their message has been delivered and read. This creates pressure on each person to respond quickly to the other.

The concepts of reward and infotainment, material which is both entertaining and informative, are also crucial for “addictive” designs. In social networks, it is said that “no news is not good news”. So, their design strives always to provide content and prevent disappointment. The seconds of anticipation for the “pull to refresh” mechanism on smartphone apps, such as Twitter, is similar to pulling the lever of a slot machine and waiting for the win.

Most of the features mentioned above have roots in our non-tech world. Social networking sites have not created any new or fundamentally different styles of interaction between humans. Instead they have vastly amplified the speed and ease with which these interactions can occur, taking them to a higher speed, and scale.

Addiction and awareness

People using digital media do exhibit symptoms of behavioural addiction . These include salience, conflict, and mood modification when they check their online profiles regularly. Often people feel the need to engage with digital devices even if it is inappropriate or dangerous for them to do so. If disconnected or unable to interact as desired, they become preoccupied with missing opportunities to engage with their online social networks.

According to the UK’s communications regulator Ofcom, 15m UK internet users (around 34% of all internet users) have tried a “digital detox” . After being offline, 33% of participants reported feeling an increase in productivity, 27% felt a sense of liberation, and 25% enjoyed life more. But the report also highlighted that 16% of participants experienced the fear of missing out, 15% felt lost and 14% “cut-off”. These figures suggest that people want to spend less time online, but they may need help to do so.

At the moment, tools that enable people to be in control of their online experience, presence and online interaction remain very primitive. There seem to be unwritten expectations for users to adhere to social norms of cyberspace once they accept participation.

But unlike other mediums for addiction, such as alcohol, technology can play a role in making its usage more informed and conscious. It is possible to detect whether someone is using a phone or social network in an anxious, uncontrolled manner. Similar to online gambling, users should have available help if they wish. This could be a self-exclusion and lock-out scheme. Users can allow software to alert them when their usage pattern indicates risk.

The borderline between software which is legitimately immersive and software which can be seen as “exploitation-ware” remains an open question. Transparency of digital persuasion design and education about critical digital literacy could be potential solutions.

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Technology Addiction

Creating a healthy balance.

Extreme use of technology can disrupt normal patterns of mood and socialization in teens

Technology is everywhere, and it is not going away. Teenagers stare down at their iPhones, or keep their eyes glued to a tablet or laptop, instead of observing the world around them. It's not unusual to see two adolescents seated together on a bus, texting furiously on their mobiles rather than talking to one another. The fact that teens are so dependent on technology makes sense in our world, but it may also lead to negative consequences.

What is technology addiction?

Technology addiction can be defined as frequent and obsessive technology-related behavior increasingly practiced despite negative consequences to the user of the technology. An over-dependence on tech can significantly impact students' lives. While we need technology to survive in a modern social world, a severe overreliance on technology—or an addiction to certain facets of its use—can also be socially devastating. Tech dependence can lead to teen consequences that span from mild annoyance when away from technology to feelings of isolation, extreme anxiety, and depression.

What makes technology addictive?

Technology fulfills our natural human need for stimulation, interaction, and changes in environment with great efficiency. When teenagers experience stress, be it romantic rejection or a poor grade on an exam, technology can become a quick and easy way to fill basic needs, and as such, can become addictive.

Technology impacts the pleasure systems of the brain in ways similar to substances. It provides some of the same reward that alcohol and other drugs might: it can be a boredom buster, a social lubricant, and an escape from reality.

Video and computer games, smart phones and tablets, social media and the Internet provide a variety of access points that can promote dependence on technology and negative consequences for youth:

The Internet.  The Web can be addictive as a multifunctional tool that brings us exceptionally close to an enormous amount of information at unprecedented speeds. User-friendly by design, we now have access to the Internet on our computers, through apps on our tablets, phones and watches. "FOMO," or "Fear of Missing Out," is a commonly described phenomenon for teens and young adults, in which youth increasingly feel the need to stay connected to the Internet, so they aren't the last to know of a news story or social happening.

Related to FOMO, some Facebook users, for instance, report that they use the Internet-based social media platform as a chosen method to alleviate their anxiety or depression.1 With so much accessibility to its use, the Internet is just as hard to stay away from at any given point in a day as it is easy and rewarding to use.

Video and computer games.  One hallmark of human psychology is that we want to feel competent, autonomous, and related to other people. Challenging video games allow players to feel that they are good at something. Games offer a great variety of choice to players, promoting a sense of autonomy for teens who might feel otherwise out of control.

The same goals that drive people to pursue success in the real world are often present in video games. As one amasses virtual wealth or prestige by spending time on games and advancing through levels, virtual wealth can translate into some version of actual recognition—through monetary purchasing power within an online game or a positive reputation within an online community.

Gamers find themselves linked to others who share their hobby through YouTube channels or subreddits dedicated to discussion of their game of choice with other enthusiasts. Like the Internet itself, games make themselves increasingly accessible to teens via apps on smart phones, never leaving kids' palms or pockets.

While there is room for social connection in the gaming universe, this space also provides a potential escape from reality into a digital world where players get to assume new identities more appealing or more novel than those they hold in the real life.

Smart phones, tablets, and lifestyle technologies.  These highly-mobile, flexible machines have the power to constantly connect. Smart phones and tablets, and the emergence of other smart devices from the Apple Watch to the Amazon Echo, promote addiction by removing the time lapse from tasks and activities that previously required logging into a deskbound, or at least a backpack-bound, computer source.

Social media.  Social media presents individually-relevant information in the easiest ways—centralized, personalized portals, like a Facebook newsfeed, YouTube subscription, or Snapchat followership.

Whether it's a Skype conversation with our grandmother in Alaska or a Twitter reply to the President, social media feeds our need for human connection by allowing us to share feedback with those who are far from us in time, geography, or social status. As social animals, we need human contact for emotional and psychological health. The appeal of social media is that it helps us to fill social needs without the efforts or restraints of in-person contact.

What are the risks of teen technology use?

While technology is certainly not all bad, its overuse can pose certain key risks, especially to teens.

Technology can give students a false sense of relational security as they communicate with unseen individuals around the world. The speed with which technology moves makes everything a teen might be looking for available within seconds, which encourages an unhealthy desire for instant gratification. A slow internet connection or “unplugging” can promote irritability and anxiety for a teen otherwise used to constant connection through technology.

Sleep disorders can develop as teens stay up all night to play with technology, and as a result, academic, athletic, and social performance can suffer. Weight gain and other complications of a poor diet and sedentary lifestyle, such as cardiovascular disease, may result. In-person social skills may deteriorate.

Even as healthy teens are challenged by increasing life responsibilities, hormonal changes, and the stress of new social and academic worlds like dating and applying to college, these life transitions become even harder for those wholly absorbed in technology.

Within a technology-addicted individual, the mind becomes increasingly unable to distinguish between the lived and the alternate realities that produce instant stimulation, pleasure, and reward. As such, the extreme use of technology can disrupt normal patterns of mood and socialization in teens. Dependency upon social media, gaming, or other platforms to function can become the new and unhealthy "normal."

Technology addiction and teen substance use.  Researchers have found evidence that people who overuse technology may develop similar brain chemistry and neural patterning to those who are addicted to substances. 2

Another concern is that those who are addicted to technology are actually more likely to also use substances than their peers with healthier relationships to tech, providing the insight that technology addiction may be a risk factor for alcohol and other drug addiction.

One preliminary study found that a group of teens who "hyper-texted" were 40% more likely to have used cigarettes and twice as likely to have used alcohol than students who were less frequent users of technology. This same research noted that those who spent more hours per school day than peers on social networking sites were at higher risk for depression and suicide. 3

It stands to reason then, that if we can prevent technology addiction, we may also be able to prevent other risky behavior and dangerous consequences to teens.

Technology and the brain.  Studies have shown that brain scans of young people with internet addiction disorder (IAD) are similar to those of people with substance addictions to alcohol, cocaine, and cannabis. 4

Damage to brain systems connecting emotional processing, attention, and decision-making are affected in both substance addicts and technology addicts. This discovery shows that being hooked on a tech behavior can, in some ways, be as physically damaging as an addiction to alcohol and other drug use.

When is technology a protective factor?

Of course, the advent of smarter, faster, more mobile technologies can be used positively with teens too. The following list reflects the many ways that technology, used in a healthy way, can encourage teens to explore their world and express themselves:

Learning.  In Ramsey Musallam's AP Chemistry class at Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory in San Francisco, California, cell phones are a natural extension of the way the teacher otherwise communicates with his students. As soon as kids walk into his classroom, Musallam sends out a text blast through Remind101, asking students a challenge question related to the day's lesson. 5

Some teachers use Facebook as a communication hub, creating a public page or smaller, closed groups for classes. Using technology like this, teachers can keep parents informed, distribute homework or permission slips, and share photos and videos from classroom activities and field trips.

Others in education and civic development have found that by piquing students' interest in social justice or commentary videos posted on YouTube, student engagement with world issues is enhanced.

Creativity and expression.  Technology can promote student creativity by prompting expression through user-friendly tools. Some studies have shown that blogging, or web journaling, enhances students' creative thinking. 6

Metacognition—the ability to be aware of, attend to, and use information about one's own cognitive processes—allows students to strengthen critical thinking across academic and artistic disciplines. Utilizing Internet-based technologies that ask students to reflect on and reiterate their learning processes provides a framework for the development of teen metacognition skills.

Now common technologies like tablets and smart phones are often much less bulky than notebooks and textbooks, allowing students to flex their imaginations, read fiction, write poetry, doodle, or take pictures through the ease of software applications found on highly-mobile devices.

Socialization.  When monitored properly by a parent or guardian, the use of social media can create safe and healthy friendship networks for teens with like interests online, through already established mutual friendships or within shared interest hubs, like a blogging community or Facebook group.

Preventing other teen risks.  Since the expansion of the Internet and mobile technologies, call-in hotlines have expanded to include Internet help sites and texting lines for teens run by knowledgeable and mature adults. These options provide a place teens can go for accurate information and timely support when they are not comfortable discussing their personal problems with an adult at home or school.

At her social advocacy organization, Nancy Lublin started receiving so many texts from students with questions about bullying that she set up a text-only crisis line.7 While online harassment is a concern, online support movements like the It Gets Better Project have sprung up to powerfully protect teens too.

Preventing Technology Addiction in Teens

Technology will only grow in its use in teens' worlds. Preventing teen addiction to technology means finding a balance within students' lives, so that teenagers do not misuse their technology as an escape from real world challenges, emotions, socialization, or identity. Adults can help children and teens have healthy relationships to technology when they:

Provide plenty of healthy highs, some of them offline.  How teenagers use technology really matters. Are teens playing video games among other recreational activities, and are they as excited about a dinner with friends as they are about "leveling up"? Or, are they turning on the Xbox so they don't have to face a life that they're not enjoying?

Balance activity and productivity with healthy stress management.  Everything in life requires energy, and often teens feel like they have too little energy to spend on too many demands. If they're are not guided by adults to discover healthy ways to replenish their stores of energy, they may default by overusing easy fixes for entertainment or stress relief that promote technology addiction.

Nurture pro-social identity development in the real world.  Adults must be proactive, creative, and excited as they help kids to discover who they really are! Once teenagers find something they are good at and want to do, they will naturally gravitate toward it. It is easier to create an Internet façade, but far more rewarding for teens to cultivate true purposes and genuine identities within their families, schools, and communities.

Consider treatment when there's a problem.  Inpatient treatment for technology addiction starts by removing a teenager from both the Internet and the surroundings that allowed a technology addiction to occur in the first place. It is a form of intensive therapy. Other treatments can include ways to help technology addicts see the offline world as more pleasurable, without fully removing the online element from their lives.

Creating a Healthy Balance

It is true that technology can fulfill many human needs, but its overuse comes with risk. Being addicted to technology is in some ways akin to an addiction to alcohol and other drugs, with many of the same effects on the developing brain.

We must do all we can to prevent any sort of addiction from occurring in our children's lives. Technology can be a protective factor if used properly, and healthy adults can play a role in student technology addiction prevention by showing young people the benefits to be gained from a healthy, balanced approach to technology use.

1. Conrad, Brent. "Why Is Facebook Addictive? Twenty-One Reasons For Facebook Addiction - TechAddiction." Video Game Addiction Treatment & Computer Addiction Help - TechAddiction. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Feb. 2017. http://www.techaddiction.ca/why-is-facebook-addictive.html.

2. Goldstein, Rita Z., and Nora D. Volkow. (2011). "Dysfunction of the prefrontal cortex in addiction: neuroimaging findings and clinical implications: Abstract: Nature Reviews Neuroscience." Nature Publishing Group: science journals, jobs, and information. Nature Publishing Group, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, n.d. Web. 8 Feb. 2017. http://www.nature.com/nrn/journal/v12/n11/abs/nrn3119.html.

3. NHS. "Extreme levels of texting 'unhealthy'." NHS Choices. 10 November 2010. N.p. Web. 2 8 Feb. 2017. http://www.nhs.uk/news/2010/11November/Pages/Texting-and-teen-behaviour.aspx.

4. Lin, Fuchun, Zhou, Yan, Du, Yasong, Qin, Lindi, Zhao, Zhimin, Xu, Jianrong and Hao Lei. (2012). "Abnormal White Matter Integrity in Adolescents with Internet Addiction Disorder: A Tract-Based Spatial Statistics Study." Plos One. Web. 8 Feb. 2017. http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0030253.

5. Barseghian, Tina. "How Teachers Make Cell Phones Work in the Classroom | MindShift." KQED Public Media for Northern CA.KQED, 10 May 2012. Web. 8 Feb. 2017. https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2012/05/10/how-teachers-make-cell-phones-work-in-the-classroom/.

6. Hargrove, R. "The Role of Technology in Developing Students Creative Thinking Abilities - IATED Digital Library." IATED Digital Library. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Apr. 2013. http://library.iated.org/view/HARGROVE2009THE.

7. Lublin, Nancy. "Nancy Lublin: Texting that saves lives | Video on TED.com." TED: Ideas worth spreading. TED Conferences, LLC, n.d. Web. 2 Apr. 2013. http://www.ted.com/talks/nancy_lublin_texting_that_saves_lives.html.

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Essays on Technology Addiction

Faq about technology addiction.