ADDICTION OF GADGETS AND ITS IMPACT ON HEALTH OF YOUTH
Transcription
ADDICTION OF GADGETS AND ITS IMPACT ON HEALTH OF YOUTH
Altius Shodh Journal of Management and Commerce ISSN 2348 – 8891 ADDICTION OF GADGETS AND ITS IMPACT ON HEALTH OF YOUTH: A STUDY OF STUDENTS IN INDORE DISTRICT Dr. Ashish Pathak, ** Prof. Maneesh Soni, *** Dr. Kumbhan Khandelwal *Professor, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Government Arts and Commerce College, Indore. **H.O.D (Dept. of Mass Communication), Renaissance College of Commerce and Management, Indore. ***Professor, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Government Arts and Commerce College, Indore. Abstract In the present time the introduction of modern technological gadgets has created the attention of global population. The dependency of people on these hi-tech gadgets and services provided by these has reached at such level that, without these, they can't think a step forward in the direction of their growth. Which also leading to addiction or we can say obsession of the tech-devices and services. Youth is the most defenseless group among the population to be addicted to technology. The study was designed to examine the use of techdevices by youth i.e. the time spent with the gadgets, the purposes behind use, and its impacts on mental health and life style. Using structured questionnaire, unstructured interviews and observation based on primary data collected from 300 respondents in Indore especially from various undergraduate colleges showed that most of the young respondents spend a large amount of their time with their tech-gadgets and services provided by the technological environment. The purposes of use in most cases are pleasure driven rather than necessity. In addition it reveals that obsession to tech-devices has many negative impacts on the aspects relating to mental health o f the respondents and has become a causal factor in the change of life style of young participants. The results are interpreted based on the current theories and implications for future are pointed out. Keywords: Gadgets, Hi Fi, Addiction, Problems Introduction: The term technology comes from the Greek word “techne”, which means the art or skill used in order to solve a problem, improve a pre-existing solution to a problem, achieve a goal, handle an applied input/ output relation or perform a specific function; technology is the making, modification, usage and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques and method of organization (Liddel, Scott, Jones & McKenzie, 1940). The young and trendy generation of today judge themselves, according to the kind of gadgets they possess. The popularity of gadgets among youth has ensured that newer and trendier gadgets are introduced very passing day. The addiction of gadgets has been such among one and all that it has become unthinkable of a life without a gadget. The effect of these gadgets has been tremendous, and it is often debated that whether the impact that it has made on the youth is a positive or negative one. Review of Literature: There are several studies which show the positive impacts of the technological gadgets and services. Other studies reveal the negative impacts of these tech-products. Some of the studies take both the positive and negative impacts of these technologies into consideration and some others show a balanced approach regarding the use of the techgadgets and services. The digital behavior of the youth makes them sit at one place for a long period of time and the eye, hand and mental coordination is maintained during that period. To cross the levels step by step in the games may improve the engineering skills among the youth and it may also help in building up good attitudes of moving ahead in life in spite of any obstacles. Following studies support the positive effects of the tech-gadgets and services. Internet continues to grow beyond our belief. About 32.7% of the world’s population has access to the social networking sites like Face book, Twitter, Linked-In, YouTube, Flicker, blogs, wikis, and many more which let people of all ages rapidly share their interests of the moment with others everywhere. So the interconnectedness throughout the world is growing rapidly due to internet use (Tsitsika & Janikian, 2013). Individuals who are engaged in high level of technical activities through the digital devices are better in performing cognitive tasks. The effective use of the gadgets may have positive impacts on cognitive thinking and also makes them master multitasking (Ophir, Nass & Wagner, 2009). It would have been a lot better if the drawbacks or the negative impacts of the use of the digital services would have been known before some years. As the use of the digital services has negative impacts students should minimize the use of these tools and should aware about its use (Walsh, 2012). Altius Shodh Journal of Management and Commerce Internet gaming and shopping is causing depressive symptoms among the college students. Implementation of programs is needed to detect and decrease these activities among them (Cotton, 2001). The addictive internet use has negative impacts on mental health. There is a positive relationship between Internet addiction and psychiatric disorders like depression, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, attention deficit disorder, etc. So the addictive internet use should need clinical help (Young, 1998). Technology has Both Positive and Negative Impacts Some studies fo cus on both the po sitive and negativ e consequences of use of the tech-devices and services and provide a equalized approach regarding the use of the same. Technology is an integral part of our everyday life as people are dependent on it from all ov er the w orld f or communication, organization and employment etc. One cannot stay away from technology even for a day. Not even a single day goes without a cell phone in hand or without laptop and net surfing. Although technology being at its best there are basic problems that follow us everywhere and generally it has drawbacks in the areas of health, public safety and education (Saez, 2010). Students should be encouraged to develop in a technological world. The necessity of social networking, computer games or digital habits of them should be understood by the elders. But simultaneously the consequences of those habits should also be studied. It is better to study the relationship between technology, child development and the popular culture. Parents should facilitate a healthy and balanced relationship between technology and their children helping them to use the social media effectively (Mitchel, 2012). Objectives of the Study: The Major Objectives behind the study is as follows1. To study the time spent by the youth with their techdevices. 2. To observe the intentions behind use of tech-devices and services. 3. To notice the impacts of the addictive usage of the variety gadgets and services on physical and mental health. Research Methodology: Research includes both primary and secondary data, where primary data is collected through sampling to make this study purposive one. On other hand secondary data is collected through various secondary sources viz. websites, magazines, blogs, etc. The purposive sampling is followed by collection of information from 300 respondents i.e students of undergraduate colleges in Indore & due to some limitations of study the names of colleges is not indulged in this paper. RESULTS AND FINDINGS: The economic status is one of the important factors for the study which indicates that an economically sound person is capable to buy the electronic gadgets like mobile phones, smart phones, laptops, tablets ISSN 2348 – 8891 etc. Parental Income and spending time with gadgets along with internet is also considered for data collection, which is depicted in the pie charts as shown below: Altius Shodh Journal of Management and Commerce ISSN 2348 – 8891 (Respondents having Hearing Problem, Headache and Sleeping Problem) Health Impacts of Excessive Use of Tech gadgets on health of students: Physical Problems 1. Physical Health Problems through ear phones on hearing capacity of respondents - Respondents as per the use of ear phones per day Findings show that out of 300 respondents 72% suffering from hearing problems due to addiction towards excessive usage of earphones for more than 6 hours in a day. The lowest rate of respondents addicted with touch screen gadgets for 1-2 hour is 11 % whereas this is consistently increased with usage for more than 6 hours i.e., 60%. On the other hand about 60% of the respondents who are using their gadgets for more than 6 hours have stated that they face problem in falling asleep or staying asleep. But in other cases, respondents had sound sleep if they used the gadgets for a limited time. 1-2 hr % age of the respondents having hearing problems 10% 2-4 hr 13% Health Impacts of Excessive Use of Tech gadgets on health of students: Mental Problem - 4-6 hr 55% 1. Impacts on Logical Thinking and Memory >6hr 72% 2. Physical Health Problems- Causing headaches in respondents - Respondents as per the use of gadgets per day 1-2 hr % age of the respondents having regular headaches 11% 2-4 hr Respondents as per % age of respondents the use of gadgets having problems in per day logical thinking 1-2 hr 6% 2-4 hr 11% 15% 4-6 hr 18% 4-6 hr 42% >6 hr 45% >6 hr 79% 3. Physical Health Problems- Causing sleeping problem - Respondents as per % age of respondents the use of gadgets having sleeping per day problems 1-2 hr 2% 2-4 hr 4% 4-6 hr 9% >6 hr 60% 2. Problem of depression Respondents as per the use of gadgets per day 1-2 hr % age of the respondents depressed 16% 2-4 hr 25% 4-6 hr 50% >6 hr 85% Altius Shodh Journal of Management and Commerce 3. Impact on Mental Stability Respondents as per % age of respondents the use of gadgets worry excessively per day 1-2 hr 7% 2-4 hr 14% 4-6 hr 40% >6 hr 69% 4. Impact on level of Consciousness Respondents as per % age of respondents the use of gadgets having low per day consciousness 1-2 hr 10% 2-4 hr 12% 4-6 hr 20% >6 hr 68% ISSN 2348 – 8891 Again the degree of depression varies from lower to higher as per the increasing order of the time period of the use of gadgets. It may be the result of social isolation of the students due to the devotion of large amount of time towards the technology. Weak minds are mostly getting worried even if in small matters. Results shows that 69 % respondents losing patience and face the syndrome of mental stability especially users of gadgets more than 6 hours. The amount decreases with case 1-2, 2-4 respectively. Nearly 70 % in the user group > 6 are facing problems in making quick decisions due to lack of consciousness, which is again an example of negative impact of gadgets. Limitations Of Research - We wind up this study with its limitations. Of course the sample size of the present research is not representative as expected & there is need of future research too. Limitation of time restricts the study to focus on users groups. Study is only focused on physical and mental problems of respondents while other factor also affects health of youth but could not be controlled. Conclusions: The above study is conducted in a developed city and developing country like researches in western developing countries. We conclude that 3rd & 4th generation technology changes the world of communication very fast, but we must control it through setting of our priorities because any product or service should be used as necessity driven rather than luxury. References: Findings show that out of 300 respondents 45% having problems related with recalling things which is symbol of imbalance of memory and logical thinking. 1. http://www.asam.org 2. http://www.ehow.com 3. http://www.emergingedtech.com/.../pros-and-consof-digital-devices. 4. http://www.fplreflib.findlay.co.uk/articles/60956/p1618.pdf 5. http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Effect-Of-Gadgets-OnThe-Youth&id=5908501 6. http://www.theguardian.com