Breathe
By Juana Ramírez
More than 90 million people in Mexico are internet users through a smartphone. According to data from the Mexican Internet Association, the average screen exposure time of Mexicans is around 9 hours a day, considering the time spent on activities such as working on a computer, watching television, using mobile devices and surfing the Internet.
The benefits of technology are undeniable: it facilitates daily life, increases our productivity, keeps us connected to the world, democratizes access to information, diversity of thought and even offers entertainment and comfort. However, there is also a worrying B-side: while schools are beginning to ban the use of smartphones and tablets in the classroom as a powerful distractor, to avoid inappropriate use and combat social isolation of students, public health specialists estimate that one in four people who use devices suffers from an illness caused by technology: from anxiety or fear of not having a cell phone or being without internet, to musculoskeletal injuries that may require surgery.
Techno pathologies or technological diseases are physical or mental health problems caused by the use of computers, internet, cell phones, tablets and video game consoles. To better identify them, these diseases can be classified into three groups: musculoskeletal, clinical and mental health-related.
The former are a group of disorders that affect muscles, bones, joints, tendons or ligaments of the body, causing pain, inflammation, stiffness and limited joint movement, which can affect the quality of life of the people who suffer from them. Treatment for these diseases usually includes medication, physical therapy, lifestyle changes and in some cases, surgery. Some of the most common diseases within this group resulting from the use of technology are: tendonitis -tendonitis -when inflammation of the fibrous structures that connect muscles to bones occurs, epicondylitisepicondylitis, caused by repetitive movements of the wrist and forearm, such as those performed in work activities that require repetitive gripping and twisting movements. Carpal tunnel carpal tunnel which affects the wrist and hand, when the median nerve, which passes through the wrist, becomes compressed or irritated. This can cause pain, numbness, tingling, and weakness in the hand and fingers. back The so-called "text neck" or back disorders are also caused by poor posture, and here is a fact that illustrates it well: in an upright position our head weighs between 4 and 5 kilos, but if the neck is bent 15 degrees to look at the phone, the force exerted on the vertebrae and cervical musculature increases to twelve kilos and continues to grow as a function of the inclination. This generates tension in the muscles of the neck, shoulder and back that can generate dysfunctions in the neuro-musculoskeletal system at the cervical level and alter the joint alignment, causing contractures, headache and back pain, even disc herniation and cervical osteoarthritis.
In the group of clinical diseases caused by the excessive use of technology, we find, among others, the increase of intraocular intraocular pressurewhich causes reddening of the eyes, blurred vision and even nausea and visual dryness, especially for those who wear contact lenses. When intraocular pressure is high and prolonged, it can lead to glaucoma and long-term blindness. The premature hearing loss as a consequence of listening to sounds at too high a volume, especially with the prolonged use of hearing aids. Also overweight, obesity and eating disorders have a strong relationship with all those hours in front of the screen that promote sedentary lifestyles and the consumption of fast and industrial food, in addition to the beauty stereotypes that are promoted on social networks have increased the likelihood of anorexia and bulimia, especially in the youngest.
Finally, mental health also suffers strong alterations: just as there are those who suffer from addictions to drugs, alcohol or cigarettes, Internet Addictive Disorder (IAD) is a serious problem. Internet Addictive Disorder (IAD) is a growing phenomenon, which is already considered a psychiatric problem when dependence on virtual spaces such as social networks, online games and chat, begins to alter the normal functioning of people with their daily activities, deteriorating school, family, social, work or economic performance. The FOMO -refers to the anxiety disorder derived from the thought of missing out on an interesting or fun experience that other people are having at that moment, such as a trip, a live show or the latest viral video on YouTube.
The dissociative identity disorder or the difficulty in distinguishing reality between the virtual world and the physical world that arises when people begin to have more virtual social interactions than face-to-face ones. The most common cases occur in children and teenagers with the uncontrolled, repeated and obsessive use of video games that ends up producing a certain disconnection from reality or even imitation of virtual situations within real life. In adults, obsessive romantic relationships with virtual characters known from apps or social networks, as exemplified well by the movie "Her" (2013), by director Spike Jonze, which presents the case of Theodore, a writer who falls in love with Samantha, the female-voiced name of an intelligent and personalized operating system that raises profound questions about the nature of love, human connection in the digital age and the growing dependence on technology in our lives.
And believe it or not the list of techno pathologies is even longer, but can we do anything to prevent all these health problems? The reality is that we are so exposed that although we can hardly avoid some of them, such as long hours in front of the computer at work, I leave you these ten "antidotes to reduce their effects or to deal with the unpleasant consequences of the use of technology in a timely manner:
1. Limit hours of exposure, particularly in children and teenagers.
2. Include at least 30 minutes of physical activity daily.
3. Avoid prolonged use of headphones and control the volume.
4. Define daily spaces to get away from cell phones and screens.
5. Attend at least once a month to events such as exhibitions, concerts and plays.
6. Cultivate real human relationships: a coffee with friends, a game in the park, joining communities or groups that share common interests.
7. Keep healthy snacks nearby and reduce easy access to junk food.
8. Attend to any type of bodily pain in a timely manner.
9. Supervise the use of the Internet and social networks by children and teenagers, making use of parental control tools.
10. Make agreements in the family, couple or friends that limit the use of devices and encourage us to look each other in the eye again.
If you use other antidotes and they have worked for you, share them in the comments, because we are facing a real pandemic that we must understand and address.
The opinions expressed are the responsibility of the authors and are absolutely independent of the position and editorial line of the company. Opinion 51.
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