Not everyone was onboard but now the benefits are clear.
Technology has connected us like never before. We can talk over video around the globe and send messages to far flung locations in mere seconds. All of this convenience has changed the way those who are connected work and live but it hasn’t been without its downside. Research shows many of us are far more sedentary than previous generations and struggling with other issues as a result. Over half of all young adults in the US are now considered to be overweight or obese, which is staggering.
A global problem
The results of engaging with technology are being felt worldwide. In India, a village is leading the way to change by switching off their phones and TVs for a few hours every day. According to a report on BBC.com, the village of Vadgaon sets off a siren at 7pm each day in the Sangli district. At this point, all local residents turn off their screens. The tech break lasts until 8:30pm at which point locals reconnect.
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The decision to go low-tech, even if only for a moment, wasn’t something that was easy for everyone to accept. The residents decided to give it a go at a village meeting last August in order to face the fact that many people were feeling addicted to their TVs and phones. They saw it in their children, particularly, which concerned them. The same trend can be seen in the US where it’s estimated that kids spend approximately five to seven hours each day on screens. Teens have been found to spend up to nine hours.
The village India is a rural one home to farmers and people working at the local sugar mill.
Residents say the break has been beneficial for families. Parents say it’s now easier to get kids to study at home. The time away from screens has also spurred adults to engage in more normal conversations, which they’ve seen as a benefit.
Evolving towards extinction?
Our addiction to screens isn’t just something that can distract us from forwarding our lives and endanger our physical and mental health, (although that sounds bad enough as it is). Excessive screen time could eventually place the human race at risk, some experts have insinuated.
As Neville Owen writes in “Sedentary Behavior: Emerging Evidence for a New Health Risk”:
“From an evolutionary perspective, humans were designed to move—to locomote and engage in all manner of manual labor throughout the day. This was essential to our survival as a species.”
The study hints at the fact that, if we become overly reliant on tech in our lives for long enough, we may actually alter human DNA. And this could be detrimental to our long term survival. The way we’re built at the moment came about from engaging with our natural environment in physical and mental ways. Where we’re now headed with our current lifestyle remains a question.
What seems immediately obvious is one thing: we need to get and stay active. Switching on and relying on technology has been helpful in many ways. It’s also important that we remember to run away from our screens and engage with the outside world for significant lengths of time. Everyday.
photo credits: Tero Vesalainen/Shutterstock.com
