The Negative Consequences Of Addiction By Steve Jobs

It might come as a surprise that Steve Jobs was a low-tech parent, meaning he limited how often his children could use electronic devices. In an interview, technology executives agreed with Jobs’ parenting style in that they have seen the dangers of technology firsthand and do not want its negative consequences to impact their young ones (Bilton). One of the severe negative consequences that can arise with overusing electronics is addiction. Addiction is defined as the compulsive need to participate in an activity; in this case it relates to using technology obsessively. These addicted users are glued to their devices, feeling lost without them. Steve Jobs and technology experts alike know how harmful these devices can be, as users claim they …show more content…
Over use of computers is as mentally harmful as drugs, which is why it warrants parents restricting how much their children are using it. Addiction in reference to drugs and alcohol is terrifying as it can cause the deterioration of one’s mental and physical state. Similar to a drug or alcohol need, addiction to electronics has a direct negative impact on physical and long term mental state. To elaborate, the scientific journal PloS One published a study showing that 17 men and women officially diagnosed with Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD) had abnormal patterns of white matter in the brains when compared to the brain scans of 16 healthy, non-addicted people. White matter in the brain, which contains nerve fibers, is responsible for transmitting signals to the brain and body. The researchers of this study found that technology junkies have similar white matter patterns as addicts of alcohol, cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and meth (Jaslow). This research proves that Internet obsession shares common changes in the brain with substance addiction. Just as a drug or alcohol dependant’s normal brain function is disrupted by introducing drugs to one’s system, an Internet addict’s normal brain function is also disrupted in significant ways. Internet overuse causes an inability recognize human emotion, make effective decisions, or control their compulsive behavior. …show more content…
The Internet is a great resource, it provides one with anything they could ever need to know, yet this feature is also eliminating the need for long-term memory. With easy access to billions of websites in seconds, people are forgetting to remember how to use their memory. Then, when one really needs to use their brain to store information, they can not rely on it since it is out of practice. In an experiment that examined twelve people with minimal Internet search engine experience and twelve people with extensive experience, it was evident through MRI scanning that the people who relied on search engines for learning were experiencing detrimental changes in the brain’s responsiveness and long-term memory (Small, Moody, Siddarth, and Bookheimer). Indisputably, through this and many other studies, relying on search engines for the majority of learning is not really learning at all. Search engines, as well as social media, are eliminating the need to retain information for long periods of time. This study proves that although search engines are convenient for obtaining information quickly, they should not be replacing traditional methods of learning. In addition, in 1998, Google had 9,800 daily searches, yet today the number of searches per day is over 4.7 trillion (“How the Internet…”). The rapid rate at which the number of Google searches per day is growing proves that the Internet