Being apart of the millennial generation, we are in touch with all forms of technology and devices. A majority of our day is dedicated to being connected to a screen of some sort, whether it be a phone, laptop, tablet etc. The question that I have come across is, do these screens help us or hurt us?

It is obvious that technology is advancing to be of helpful use for us. Our phones are basically small computers. Therefore the number of things we can accomplish on them is imminent. Most millennials would argue that all these devices have nothing but positive benefits, well I’m here to shed some light on the negatives that may not be known.

The research conducted by Professor Niman at SUNY Buffalo State gave me an insight on screen usage that not only had me astonished but also interested in  taking a deeper look into just what screens do to us. He goes into talking about screen addiction and of course the reaction to the term addiction was immense at first but not anymore.

Professor Niman then goes into saying that our phone addictions are both psychological and physical. People have a big problem with disconnecting, if we aren’t checking our devices all day every day, we are completely lost.

The theories use to reside in an alpha state which is the state of daydreaming or meditation where one seems to be awake and alert but mentally are in a different place. However, there is now prominent evidence of dopamine reactions and the downgrading of serotonin receptors.

So, what does this mean? In simple terms, the usage of devices has been proven to release the same chemical reactions to those of drugs like methamphetamines.

When we post a picture and get over a hundred likes, the same chemicals that are released when using drugs are released from the popularity of the post. We are literally getting high off of the attention we receive from the internet and specifically from our posts. We want to feel this high continuously and so the screen addiction continues.

On the other hand, what happens when the picture isn’t liked? What happens when the tweet gets no retweets? The same chemical reactions that happen in the brain from drug withdrawal is what happens from screen withdrawal. We begin to feel depressed and go into a plethora of mental problems like anxiety, aggression, sleeping disorders, the list goes on and on.

So where do we go from here? What can the solution be in a world surrounded by technology? Being able to disconnect as much as possible is the only solution to maintain mental and physical brain/body health. Leave your phone in your bag during class. Turn it completely off once and a while for an hour or two. Technology is a prominent part of our world now so it is unrealistic to say “get rid of it completely”; however, being able to live life without the phone 24/7 is key to not only staying healthy but being apart of the world around us because in reality, life is not about likes.