The Damaging Effect Technology Has On Teens In Britain

British teenagers are some of the most addicted ones in the world to internet usage. Technology is taking a toll on young people in Britain and about 37.3% of teenagers younger than 15 spend more than 6 hours on the day using the internet. That is more than one in three being addicted.

Furthermore, England is among the top countries out of 35 OECD members that have this kind of problem. Actually, the only country that has a bigger problem with internet usage is Chile.

Being that Britain is a developed country and that internet access is a given, it managed to cause more harm than it should do well.

What are the Effects on Teens?

By spending six or more hours on the net kids are subjected to being harmed in all sorts of ways. The most obvious one is physical as they do not get to develop their bodies properly in a crucial stage of their development. Not to mention that it affects their eyesight.

But an even bigger problem could be with the mental side of things.

Teenagers who spend so much on the web are much more liable to be bullied. In fact, 17.8% of heavy users are bullied opposed to 6.7% of moderate users. This happens both online and in real life.

Additionally, many teenagers access dangerous and harmful content on the internet and can fall prey to people who are trying to take advantage of them.

Other Harmful Effects

Overuse of technology does not only have a bad effect on people as it damages the environment as well. England is already facing a waste management and recycling problem so adding technological waste to the mix might only worsen the situation even further.

Although many waste removal companies in the area can take away your technological waste, there are tons and tons of equipment being created to support the needs of users which eventually gets to be discarded somewhere.

In some way, technological waste can be much more harmful than the regular types as it can produce harmful toxins and be much more damaging for both the environment and people.

How to Help the Kids

The problem of internet addiction and heavy interest usage is an enormous one that needs to be resolved as quickly as possible.  But if you think that cutting things off is the solution here, it really isn’t.

If you try to stop kids using the internet by force and cutting things off abruptly it might have devastating effects. Thus a more viable solution could be educating kids about the problem.

It is always better to prevent something from happening than to try and cure it. Giving lectures on how dangerous the overuse and misuse of the internet can be can prove to be paramount in stopping the problem from occurring in the first place. This can be done in schools, but there are other areas where it could be provided.

If the problem does occur, the help of a psychiatrist can be the final solution. Having somebody to talk to might lead to clearing the root of the problem. In many cases, addiction of any kind is often caused by being unhappy with something in your personal life. A person would always want to forget about the bad things they are experiencing by substituting them with others.

All in all, this is a big problem that threatens to get even worse. The development of technology is showing no sign of slowing down, so the only way to prevent our kids from being affected by it is to take action while there is still time.