I remember vividly my childhood in the late 90s and early 2000s. I wasn't allowed to play indoors with friends, unless it's cold, rainy or dark outside. I didn't have a lot of electronic gadgets and toys, other than maybe walkie talkies or a remote control car. I mostly played outside, climbing trees, swimming and exploring. My friends and I always used our imagination to entertain ourselves. Even when I was allowed to play indoors, I played with dolls, colored, and used blocks and leggos. So I always used my imagination. I never sat in front of the computer for hours playing video games. Times have changed radically. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essayToday, children don't use half the imagination as they used to. From a young age, children are now given very expensive technology toys and phones. I didn't get an iPod until I was thirteen. My little brother got one when he was seven. This technological age is not just a problem with children; the trend is also great among adults. Almost every time you pass someone on the sidewalk or in a hallway, they have a phone in their hand. And if not a phone, a laptop. The point of my argument is not to denigrate technology. Technology is what made America great and what keeps humans alive longer. What I denigrate is the excessive amounts we decide to use technology. I'm going to explain how using technology to a certain extent is okay, but how excessive use can be harmful. For starters, childhood obesity rates continue to rise. Rates increased from 14.5% in 2000 to 17.3% in 2012 according to the Huffington Post. Is this linked to the rise of technology, you may ask. Or is it due to the amount of sugary foods children eat? According to Parenting.com, the lack of physical activity in children is caused by "computers, television and video games." These activities keep children sedentary and prevent them from engaging in physical exercise and activities that burn large amounts of calories that children need to grow and develop. While spending thirty minutes to an hour every now and then in front of the computer will not do much damage, while allowing the child to become technologically advanced. There must be a time when the parent steps in to ask the child to spend their free time differently. There aren't many eight-year-olds who feel self-conscious about their bodies and feel like they need to exercise. Most children who use their free time to do physical activities enjoy it and therefore prefer to do it over video games. One of my cousins ​​was introduced to PlayStation and computers at a young age. By the age of four, he was able to operate both on his own. As he got older, I noticed he was gaining weight; more weight than it should have. I also noticed the lack of physical exercise he engaged in. He stopped playing outside with me and stayed inside. It is safe to say that technological advancements and overuse of technology have contributed to most cases of childhood obesity. Then, face-to-face human communication slowly but surely becomes less effective. How many text messages do you send per day compared to the number of callstelephone calls you receive? A lot or a little, right? Our world is invaded by digital communication. “Everyone is connected but no one is connecting,” are the lyrics of Armin Van Buuren’s new song, “Alone.” I love this quote. Everyone is connected to phones, to the internet, to games, but no one is connecting to each other. Sitting in a restaurant, I look around and almost half the people I see are playing on their cell phones instead of engaging in conversation with the person sitting across from them. I am sometimes guilty of this. While waiting for my food to arrive, I sometimes check social media or my emails to pass the time. But can you call it a date if you're constantly looking at your phone? Brandon Copeland, editor of Brand&Mortar.com, says: “We are so absorbed in new technologies that we have almost forgotten how to engage and interact with each other face-to-face. Family dinners are becoming rarer. This century, what my family and many other families consider a “family dinner” is sitting in front of a flat-screen smart TV while eating a meal. When parents manage to get their children to come to the table, most of them bring their cell phones, forcing the parent to keep the phone away from their child, if they are not also on the phone. 91% of American adults owned a cell phone in 2013. This number has increased by 26% since 2004 according to the Pew Research Center. My dad and I can be sitting in the same house, and instead of confronting me about a situation or question, he will just text me. People depend on their cell phones to simplify their lives, thereby reducing their communication skills. How can excessive use of technology harm our lives? Let's start with the students. Most middle school, high school and college students have a cell phone and/or laptop. Although most schools and universities have Wi-Fi, it is primarily intended for teachers and students. However, most students benefit from it, I know. While attending a boring history class the student paid a sum of money to attend, the student logs out while watching social media on his phone which he has hidden under the office or shopping on the Internet on your Mac book. This distraction shows up on the student’s test scores. I myself have had trouble distracting myself from my phone in class and every now and then I have to turn mine off to stop myself from playing with it. This can become a bad habit for students, even causing them to fail a course and lose a lot of money. This problem has become so serious that most classrooms have signs stating that cell phone use is not necessary. Even some offices have them too. Second, technology can harm our social lives. The more you surround yourself with video games, the internet, and social media, the less you surround yourself with people and human interaction. Ted.com says: “We spend 3 billion hours a week playing video games. » There is indeed evidence that people can become socially awkward by spending too much time gaming. People forget reality and focus too much on the World Wide Web. There's a show on MTV called Catfish that aims to showcase couples who meet online or catch people doing fake acts. By being involved in an online relationship with someone you've never met, it wastes time with the real people you have in your life..