Would you leave it or live with it?

I fell asleep at 3 am today after alternately watching YouTube and Instagram. I used to be a morning person, but before I knew it, I had become a night owl. Recently, I noticed that my love for my smartphone and social media, which could transport me to a new world with a single click and comfort me when I was depressed, had gradually turned into an addiction. When I visited the hospital with severe neck and back pain that had recently started, I was diagnosed with Straight Neck Syndrome and at risk of a herniated disc. Excess of anything can be poisonous, but I'm not ready to say goodbye to my smartphone forever. So, I have decided to think about how this digital society could not erode me. This problem is not just happening to me. And you are not the only one who is going through this!

Thanks to the industrial revolution and advances in science, we live in a world surrounded by advanced technologies that were once out of reach. We can easily find our way even in unfamiliar places, stay informed about what is happening on the other side of the world in real-time, and communicate with friends and family who live far away through video calls at any time. Furthermore, we can pay for our meals at restaurants with our smart watches and enjoy watching various fun videos from all over the world. These technologies have silently taken us to new heights in our lives at a faster pace. However, buried in convenience, humans are becoming insensitive to rapid mental and physical changes, which spread like infectious diseases. It is an unchanging truth that the more technological advances affect our lives, the more abundant and prosperous they become. Nevertheless, at this point in time, when we are soaked in abundance, it is time for us to find the essence and core, not just strengths, and deal with it so that it does not encroach on our lives.

Not long ago, I visited a friend's house who has a young child. I was shocked when her three-year-old son, who could not even speak properly, easily opened his mother's smartphone and started playing games. Later, at a restaurant, my friend showed her child an animation like 'Pororo' and continued talking with me. While I could enjoy the meal without any distractions from the baby, I was worried about the child's digital consumption. Would our children be swallowed up by technology? And what about me? As an adult, I should be able to control my impulses more than a child, but looking back, I realize that I am no different. There were often days when I would lie down and look at my smartphone all day. However, the side effects of excessive screen time are more serious for young children.

Most children today are exposed to electronic devices from a very young age, and they have become accustomed to using them. Studies have shown concerning statistics, such as 17% of children starting to use social media before the age of 9, 40% accepting friend requests from strangers, and 40% of parents not monitoring their children's social media use. Furthermore, a recent survey of 1,588 middle school students aged 10-15 found that 32% had experienced cyberbullying, with 43% of those cases occurring via instant messaging in chat rooms and 28% via social networking sites. Not only this, but we often see news stories of parents or guardians who are killed or assaulted by children addicted to Internet games or social media. Scientists and psychologists continue to study the mental health problems caused by the excessive use of technology, including its effects on aggressive behavior, attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and obesity.

How many advanced technologies do we encounter every day? According to research in the U.S., 7,500 tweets, 1,394 Instagram posts, 2 million emails, and over 119,000 YouTube videos are played every second. On a global scale, 23 billion text messages are sent and received daily, adding up to a whopping 8.3 trillion text messages annually. Moreover, the Covid-19 pandemic has led to many restaurants and fast-food stores implementing kiosk machines or smartphone apps for ordering and menu browsing, which can be inconvenient or difficult for some customers who are not familiar with using new technologies. However, excessive use of the internet, smartphones, and social media has been linked to addiction and mental health issues such as depression, insomnia, and anxiety. Ironically, high-tech solutions are being used to alleviate these side effects. For example, the meditation app market in the U.S. has grown from $959 million in 2015 to $1.21 billion in 2017. Wearable high-tech devices, such as smartwatches with electrocardiogram measurement functions, can predict a patient's cardiac arrest in advance and provide feedback on mental activity, meditation, workout, and heart rate through notifications. As someone who wears a smartwatch to track my sleep quality during workouts and uses YouTube videos for guided meditation, I am also taking advantage of these advanced technologies.

High tech is deeply embedded in our lives, and we are at a crossroads of being consumed by it or using it in a healthy way. Should we allow ourselves to be swallowed up by this digital society? Even if we get lost in the comfort of technology, we must continue to seek the right path. Setting boundaries with technology, such as limiting usage time, taking walks, meditating, or reading, is an effective way to maintain a harmonious and happy relationship with technology. It is especially important to monitor children's usage of technology and educate them about setting appropriate boundaries.

When you start to become obsessed with someone, love is no longer love; it becomes nothing more or less than an attachment. Relationship with technology is the same. When we become obsessed with technology and the convenience it provides, our relationship with it becomes more like an attachment than a tool. It can be difficult to imagine parting with this convenience, but we must strive to find a healthy balance. So, will you choose to leave it behind or learn to live with it in a healthy way? My choice is to learn to live with it in a healthy way forever.