Technology and Health: It’s a balancing act.

This past week our second debate focused on how technology affects our health. Does technology have a negative impact on our health? Are there ways that technology is helping us in our quest to be healthier? How does technology affect our mental and emotional health? There were a lot of questions that were asked and a lot of information that was shared. Both groups did a great job presenting their arguments and I’d like to offer my perspective on the issue. You’ll notice that some of my ideas echo others in our class.

I’ll start with some of the arguments that I believe more strongly about. I completely agree that we all spend too much time behind screens or with a device in our hand. This isn’t a problem that is only affecting our youth. Many adults are now spending more time on their phones/devices than they are sleeping.  If you compare the effects of sleepiness to the effects of a good nights sleep it is easy to see the importance of getting a good night sleep. Youth are also being affected by the lack of sleep caused by using technology, gaming, social media and text messaging.  Sleep deprivation can lead to a significant number of health concerns for children and it can also impact their grades in school. Here is a great video that explains how our screen time impacts the amount of sleep we are getting.

I strongly believe that we should be doing our best to prevent our kids (and ourselves) from using devices or watching tv before bed. I know that it seems way easier said than done especially if you are like me and have excuse after excuse for why you need to have your phone in your room…”What if there’s an emergency and someone needs to get ahold of me??”…probably my silliest excuse because my phone is always on silent in the evening anyways. “How will I know what time it is?” Here’s an idea…buy an alarm clock. “I like to watch Netflix before bed”, I don’t have a solution for this other than to get your Netflix fix at some other point in time. Craig Canapari suggests ways that we can help prevent sleep problems caused by using technology.  There are a lot of great suggestions but I think the important thing is to lead by example and start young. We need to set the expectations when our children are younger so that it creates a foundation for when they are in their teen years. I like to think that I’ll be able to prevent my kids from having their phones in their rooms at night, but I don’t know how that will go over when the time comes. I hope we can have an agreement in place so that they can get a good night sleep.

Childhood obesity is on the rise and I don’t know if we can blame technology completely, but I do believe that it is definitely contributing to it.  It is pretty obvious to see that sitting in front of a screen requires little physical activity. This limited activity isn’t only contributing to the obesity levels, but a variety of other physical health issues. Sure there are devices, systems, and apps that might encourage users to be physically active but we have to ask if these provide us with the same benefits of not using them? The devices and apps probably do a better job of encouraging us to workout or eat healthier, but the game systems like the Wii Fit don’t do the trick. Come to think of it, I don’t think the Wii is that popular anymore. I think it came in hot and then died out because if someone wants to play a video game, they want to sit and play. They don’t want to have to move or work to play the game. I also think that running on the spot or bowling using a remote doesn’t provide you with the same experience. You are missing out on the environment that we experience those activities in. Holding the weight of the ball, or running outside stimulates different muscles and I would argue requires much more work. Apps like Map My Run and My Fitness Pal  are great for monitoring progress, tracking and setting goals as are devices like FitBit or Apple Watch. However we have to wonder if the devices are making us healthier, or is it our choice to use them that is making us healthier? One study found that exercise levels typically increase for the first few months before returning to the former level when the novelty wears off.

On the plus side, I do think that technology has definitely helped us when it comes to improving modern medicine. It is incredible to think about the different ways that technology works to help diagnose, monitor and prevent different medical issues. Technology has come a long way and is continuing to make a difference by transforming health care.  Fellow classmate Bob knows first hand how wearable devices can help record and track important information to monitor a health condition. It is important to remember the role that technology has in our health care system and keep that in mind when we question whether or not technology is making us unhealthy or not.

My final thoughts stem from reading Erin’s latest blog. I definitely think that our health is highly dependent on the choices we make. This relates to more than just technology and our health. If we make poor choices when it comes to eating and exercising, chances are we will be unhealthy. When we use fitness devices or apps to track our activity, it’s not the device that is making us healthy, it is our choice to be healthy. The device certainly helps keep us motivated and accountable but we still need to make the choice to get up and go, or eat healthy in order for the device to do it’s work. We cannot simply download an app and expect it to make us healthy. We need to make that choice. We need to help our kids make healthy choices and I think the best way we can do that is to model healthy habits. If our kids see us on our phone or computer all the time, what do you think they will think is healthy? If we put our devices down and encourage our kids to do the same, we are modelling that positive behaviour that should result in healthy habits. Taking our kids to the park and sitting on our phones is not setting a good example. Take a few pictures sure, but we don’t need to constantly be snapping or recording everything that they do. Play with your kids. Eat healthy. Exercise. Limit your own screen time especially in the evening. Set a positive example for your kids and it’s more likely that they will follow in your footsteps. Just like so many other things in life, it’s all about balance and moderation.

What do you think about technology and our health? How does it help us? Is it making us more healthy or unhealthy? Have you ever used an app or device to help you with your fitness goals? Did it work? I had one, and I was one of those people who didn’t last more than six months with mine 😦 But I realized I didn’t need an expensive device to help me stay active. It was all up to me. I had to make the choice to eat healthier and exercise, the device wasn’t doing it for me.

Porn. Let’s Talk About It.

Porn. It’s out there and it’s coming for your kids! I’m totally kidding…well somewhat. The reality is that porn IS out there. Porn is easily accessible online and there is no shortage of it.  A simple search on the internet will allow you to find things you may be curious about and much more. Another reality is that porn isn’t some monster that is coming after your kids lurking in every corner of the internet waiting to expose itself to them. There is a lot to talk about when it comes to pornography and my hope is to talk about some of the issues and concerns we might have about it.

Before we get going, here are some stats about teens and pornography.

Infographic provided by Covenanteyes.com

I think we need to address the difference between situations where kids are actively seek pornography out of curiosity, entertainment or satisfaction and kids who might come across it by accidentally searching something that brings them to see something they weren’t intending on seeing. These are two completely different situations and need to be address differently with each child. For the children who are actually searching out of curiosity or for other reasons we need to understand that it is natural for boys and girls to be curious about sex and body parts. Jeff Hay discovered his son had found pictures of naked women online and was taken aback before realizing that he was once a curious boy who used the Sears catalogue to look at the women’s bra section to satisfy his curiosity.

When I tired of Star Wars figurines, Atari games, and Hot Wheels, I would then look both ways for parents, then my nimble fingers would find the women’s bras section. I can’t be the only one to have done that…gosh, I feel so vulnerable right now.

The only difference from when he was a kid and now is that the medium has changed. Kids no longer have to find a hidden Playboy or search through the catalogues to find pictures. They can do a simple search and have all the images they want. Jeff provides some good advice on how to deal with the situations and like many others the advice is to not “freak out”. We need to be able to have open conversations with our kids about this. We can still give consequences, but we have to talk about our kids about pornography and why they are actively searching for it. Talking to your kids about pornography should happen at a young age and should involve discussing the messages that can be sent in different media including commercials and tv shows. I think it’s important for kids to understand the difference between fantasy and reality when it comes to porn. We need to teach them about healthy sexual relationships and expectations.

Ontario is taking a step forward with a new sex ed curriculum to help students cope with coming across inappropriate content online. As the article states, we know our students can easily access inappropriate content whether it be on purpose or not. Schools can set firewalls that will help prevent students from coming across anything inappropriate, but once students bring their own devices or access computers at home, anything can happen. It is important for us to teach students what to do and who to talk to when they see something that makes them uncomfortable. Students shouldn’t be left in the dark after seeing something for fear they will be in trouble. For some children, especially younger children seeing sexual images can be very confusing which is why we need to address the issues in an appropriate way.

Photo Credit: seansinnit via Compfight cc

There are a lot of great resources that can be helpful in having the pornography discussion with your students and kids. MediaSmarts has some really helpful information. You can also learn ways to prevent your kids from accessing porn on your computer.

I like that Ontario is taking a step in the right direction and think that more provinces including ours should jump on board. What do you think? When is to young to talk about porn? Is it ever to early to talk about? I think there are different conversations that can happen at different ages, but we must have these conversations to help our children develop healthy sexual habits, relationships and expectations.