Growth in Personal Technology Usage And Suggested Impacts

Just prior to 2008 we had: FACEBOOK – 1 millionth user Dec 2004 YouTube – Feb 2005 Verizon FIOS – Sept 2005 Xbox 360 – Nov 2005 iPhone – Jun 2007 ------------------------------------------------------ Virtual Reality Headsets/Oculus Rift - 2010 Snapchat – 2011 * 214M U.S. users today. By 2016, Google, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Sony and Samsung all had dedicated AR and VR groups.

Signs of Serious Impact Starting around 2008, we see real changes in the youngest generations that have been most heavily consuming these new technologies: Suicide increase Depression increase Loneliness increase Decline in Pregnancy Rate And many other changes in behavior……..

US Suicide Statistics After being flat for a decade, the age brackets from 15-34 fared much worse beginning around 2008.

Teen and Young Adult Depression rising since 2008 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), 2019, Vol. 128, No. 3, 185–199 0021-2019, Vol. 128, No. 3, 185–199 0021-843X/19/$12.00 http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/abn0000410 843X/19/$12.00 http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/abn0000410 2019, Vol. 128, No. 3, 185–199 http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/abn0000410

Since 2008, Decreasing Numbers of Young Adults Having Sexual Relations Mar 29, 2019 “The share of Americans not having sex has reached a record high” Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/

Since 2008, Decreasing Numbers of Young Men Are Engaging in Sexual Relations Mar 29, 2019 “The share of Americans not having sex has reached a record high” Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/

2018 Blue Cross and Blue Shield Study "Diagnoses of major depression have risen dramatically by 33 percent since 2013.“ Additionally, this shows that the young are impacted the most. The report found that diagnoses of major depression are rising fastest among those under age 35. As a result, diagnoses have gone up 47 percent since 2013 among millennials (ages 18–34). Plus, the rate for adolescents (ages 12–17) has risen 63 percent since 2013—47 percent for boys and 65 percent for girls. Therefore, teen depression rates are increasing. Highest depression rate of growth in the youngest and most connected.

2018 CIGNA Study The youngest and most connected are the loneliest.

Around 2008, the % of people who never dated goes up precipitously. Teenage Dating Around 2008, the % of people who never dated goes up precipitously.

Teenage Pregnancy Rate Around 2008, the pregnancy rate began to precipitously drop. The overall fertility rate started going down in this country commencing in 2008.

Many other external impacts. Less risk taking. Delaying getting drivers licenses More young adults are living at home rather than moving out. Youth are inside more and outside together less…. A recent 2018 article indicated that in the UK, a study commissioned by the National Trust found that youth spend half the time playing outside that their parents did. Look around, kids just aren’t outside playing as much. Read Twenge: “Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?”

Why Such Severe Impact? Devices were made to be addictive. Leading doctors/scientists are starting to say that this technology impacts our systems like a drug. Excessive chronic use is shown to cause brain changes. The devices have powerful mind impacts. In a study, the sheer distance the iPhone was from the teenager impacted their grade. Closer was worse….. First study saying excessive social media is causative of depression.

Potentially Harmful Physical Impacts Sleep deprivation and lower sleep quality (blue light) Lack of exercise, leading to poor posture, underdevelopment of musculature, weight problems, lack of desire for exercise Poor nutrition Eye, back and tendon strains Other concerns include EMF concerns, ADHD, Autism, Text neck…….

Other thoughts on impact….. Excessive use dysregulates our systems and knocks us out of balance. Induces Chronic hyper arousal (fight or flight). It changes your body’s chemistry. Correlated to growing radicalization. PTU increase seems correlated to increase in school shootings. From Rand in 2013: The internet accelerates the process of radicalization. The internet allows radicalization to occur without physical contact. The internet increases opportunities for self-radicalization. There was an interesting article about the Facebook content reviewers. It indicated that excessive consumption of violent or unusual content that they were trying to screen and remove when appropriate was having a very negative impact on them. Depression, some were becoming conspiracy theorists…. You become what you consume.