The development of technology today cannot be denied if it has become a major component in everyday life. Regardless of age, starting from the age of children, teenagers to adults, even someone who has entered an old age is familiar with digital devices or what we often call gadgets, nowadays there are so many gadgets with various variations that can help all our activities. , and without us knowing it makes us directly or indirectly tend to experience addiction to gadgets. Wherever and whenever we are, it has even become a rare thing when we see someone not looking at the cellphone screen or not using a gadget, for example in public places such as bus stops, parks, restaurants, entertainment venues and others.

But along with the development of technology or the development of these gadgets, it has a lot of impacts in our lives, ranging from positive impacts as well as negative impacts. This has attracted the attention of many people from various fields and various walks of life, which ended in the emergence of pros and cons in the wider community, whether the development of gadgets in our lives can be useful and provide many benefits or vice versa. Well, for that, let's discuss what are the positive and negative impacts caused by the development of gadgets in our lives and ways to avoid the negative impacts. So that we can make better use of the development of gadgets.

Frequent use of gadgets can cause back pain, backache, neck pain, shoulder tension, aches, tingling hands, all of which can adversely affect changes in body posture.

For example, improper use of a computer or laptop, such as working for a long time in front of a laptop or computer without paying attention to a good and correct sitting position. This if done for a long time and continuously can cause aches and in the long term can change the position or shape of our spine.

This is one of the effects on the physical part of a person that is most often experienced or most commonly felt by many people. The initial symptoms that appear are pain or tingling and then stiffness or swelling in the fingers and or wrists.

Dry eyes, sore eyes, eye strain and even a burning sensation or the eyes can't see focus or blurred vision. These things are symptoms of eye strain or symptoms of visual disturbances that are commonly experienced by all users of digital devices or gadgets. This can occur due to several factors including bright light from the screen, high screen contrast, glare, and flickering images with strong light from games or videos that attract attention. Squinting while viewing or while focusing on a screen can increase eye strain and may increase the effect it has on the eyes. The biggest risk is damage to the eye or decreased vision, one of which is myopia.

Spending too much time staring at a screen can cause headaches. The combination of strain on the eye muscles at the base of the skull and an attack on the eye is a common cause of these headaches. And in the long term can cause more harmful effects for the brain. Headaches that are excessive or often felt can affect our brain's ability to remember things and also think.

Research has shown that excessive use of gadgets can increase human stress levels. Stress that is experienced continuously and for a long time can have a negative impact on our heart, sleep time and quality, digestion, and emotions.

Spending too much time in front of the gadget screen not only drains the brain's ability, but also makes the body tired. This is due to the lack of blood circulation, the pressure on the muscles and joints when lingering in silence using gadgets, as a result the body becomes easily tired even when the body does not do much activity.

Research has shown that exposure to radiation from gadgets, especially cellphones and other similar devices, can cause changes in brain activity and sleep disturbances. It can also be an early symptom of stress.

When we have experienced dependence in the use of gadgets, then indirectly and slowly our physical activity will decrease. For example, with the existence of gadgets and the convenience of ordering everything online, we often stay at home or just sit back and get what we need. This is a major factor causing obesity in children and even adults and the risk of obesity is very dangerous.

A 2011 study by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine revealed that 92% of cell phones and/or other similar gadgets contain bacteria, including 16% with the dangerous strain of E.coli. These bacteria can survive for a long time. And the more we come into contact with these bacteria, the more our bodies get used to it and in the end it has a bad effect on our immune system.

Someone who is already addicted to gadgets tends to find it difficult to socialize with the people around him and even tends to be difficult to talk or tell stories. This is because they spend more time in front of gadgets, they are used to doing anything, anywhere and anytime with gadgets, thinking that everything can be done with gadgets.

When using a gadget in the form of a smartphone or tablet, a person from the age of children to the elderly can more easily improve their knowledge, because almost everything or news in this world can always be searched and always up to date and can be accessed more easily via the internet. on gadgets.

Especially in this day and age, various sciences of technological development have been included in the educational curriculum. So that nowadays it is easier for children to learn various things.

Have you ever heard the term "survival mode?" This is a gameplay function in many children's video games where the player is tasked with staying alive as long as possible in order to outlast the opponent. For example, in the popular video game Minecraft, players are dropped into new and different environments and must quickly build shelters and collect items such as food, in order to survive and outlast their opponents. Not to mention, a full day in Minecraft only lasts 10 minutes, so players will have to make good decisions quickly.

With this type of technology, children have to work independently to achieve certain goals. In the process, they are faced with different types of obstacles and challenges, which they must learn to navigate and overcome. In turn, they will be encouraged to find their own problem-solving solutions when faced with real-life problems such as homework problems, disagreements with friends, or personal difficulties, as well as technology-based barriers.

The use of gadgets can be used as an exercise in fine motor physical skills. Fine motor skills are skills related to small muscles such as wrists, fingers, feet, lips and tongue. When early children play on smartphones or tablets and others.

Cognitive skills are the ability to process information, the ability to remembering and simple reasoning and communication. This is also supported by several studies which state that gadgets have a positive impact, including the impact on investigative abilities, strategic thinking and creative thinking.

Knowing the Impact of Gadget Addiction

Delete or uninstall applications that can be the cause of gadget addiction

Expand to socialize with the closest people and people around us

Turn off gadgets and keep gadgets away a maximum of one hour before going to bed

Read more books

Take up your favorite hobbies or activities

Set time limits for gadget use