Many people believe that technology has been detrimental to our health and has a lot to answer for when it comes to modern-day illnesses. The rise of social media has been blamed for mental health issues; the increase in online shopping and deliveries has been said to have made us lazier, and the rise in people playing video games has been blamed for violence, addictions and a connection between using screens and having a weaker attention span and poorer academic performance in children.
As well as this, there is talk of delayed development in children, increased loneliness, higher stress, increased blood pressure, and diabetes risk factors. But, if you look on the other side of things there are actually, so many different ways technology is improving our health. As it integrates itself into everyday life and advances at such a rapid pace, technology is proving to be extremely beneficial in our day-to-day living and taking care of yourself.
Keeping You Aware
Access to information has helped raise our awareness of health and well-being.
Keeping You Motivated
If you are going through a tough time, struggling to lose weight, feeling lonely or anything really, technology means you can connect with others who have gone through the same struggles and made it out the other side. There are tonnes of success stories about all sorts of things all over the internet and reading other people’s stories, and experiences are great motivation.
Keeping You On Track
There are all sorts of ways you can now track your fitness, nutrition, water intake, and medication. Your iPhone is even tracking how many steps you’ve taken without you realizing it.
Keeping Communication Flowing
Digital platforms have meant that doctors and their patients can communicate by sharing lab results, sending messages, setting up appointments, and keeping records. They have also improved the overall relationship between doctors, nurses, and patients as well as ease jobs for medical professionals as they can easily access someone’s medical records to better prepare for diagnosis.
New Cures and Medication
People who suffer from type 1 diabetes, for example, have benefitted from New technology, which delivers insulin on demand and keeps track of blood sugar levels to adjust and deliver insulin doses automatically. Google also recently announced that they have been working on Made For Android, which means that those using hearing aid devices benefit from extra functionality when it comes to their smartphones, enabling them to utilize Google Assistant. Learn more about how AI is helping people with hearing difficulties too.
Keeping Your Privacy
Because you can look up things online before you go to the doctor, it can be useful to know that you’re not alone. You can even send off for tests for STIs online, meaning that more people are willing to get tested as there is increased privacy.
Keeping You Pain-Free
Maybe not completely pain-free in all cases but technology has certainly helped with managing pain, for example, victims of severe burns can use virtual technology to help manage pain as VR systems can help to distract them from pain signals.
