Here's Alice.

Like many of us, since COVID-19, she got into the habit of using screens more often and going outside less (Keles et al., 2023).

Digital practices have been surging: in 2009, 26.6% of the world population used the internet. In 2022, it was 70% (IWS, 2022).

Our daily mobile phone use averaged 32 minutes in 2011, and 155 minutes in 2021 (Statista, 2022).

Minutes add up; the average American may spend decades of their lives on screens (Vision Direct, 2022).

Despite the many benefits that these technologies can have in our daily lives, they have various psychological impacts.

For instance, online algorithms function in ways that may cause us to suffer more from self-esteem issues, personality disorders and anxiety (Haand and Shuwang, 2020; Keleş-Gördesli, 2019).

Problems related to memory and rates of early onset dementia also seem to be increasing as a result of these technologies (Neophytou et al., 2019). Our brains may be further impacted with regards to their size and overall capacities:

Frequent internet use is directly or indirectly associated with decrease of verbal intelligence and development [of] smaller grey matter volume at later stages (Takeuchi et al., 2018).

Furthermore, engaging with the digital world is associated with heightened feelings of loneliness, psychological distress, depression, and suicidal thoughts (Bonsaken et al., 2023; Memon et al., 2018).

Our mental health may be further worsened due to these technologies causing us to socialise less effectively and less frequently. As a consequence, the quality of our relationships may decrease (Bouffard et al., 2021).

These effects may be amplified because digital devices are designed to create behavioural addiction (Hussain et al., 2020).

Beyond the psychological impacts are the social ones.

Social media isolates us with similar people by using algorithmic “filter bubbles”, creating echo-chambers of posts reinforcing our opinions (Areeb et al., 2023). Additionally, toxic or divisive posts get more engagement and spread more broadly. These variables increase polarization in society; we have more and more difficulties understanding one another (Ferguson, 2021).

Partisan hostility increasingly occurs (Edsall, 2022).

At least 1/5 of Republicans and Democrats seem to believe that the USA would be better off if large numbers of the other party “just died” (Fredrick, 2023).

It's furthermore problematic that exposure to violent media — the latter's access having risen exponentially — may increase violent behaviour in the real world (Lancet, 2023; Ybarra, 2022).

Social media is becoming a force that is “undermining democracy” (Haidt, 2022).

Conspiracy theories and false information come into being and propagate faster than ever before because of online spaces (Rose, 2021). Research increasingly suggests that these platforms cause socio-political turmoil and fatalities. For example, many coronavirus-related deaths were caused by disregard of health authority mandates, actions which mainly resulted from such mis- and disinformation (Caceres et al., 2022).



There are other impacts to these technologies that are arguably more obvious on the physical level.

For instance, the use of digital devices heightens our tendency to have unnatural postures, inducing not only pain, but significantly increasing structural issues in our backs and other parts of our body (Betsch et al., 2021).

These problems may be amplified by the link that internet use has with obesity (Aghasi et al., 2020).

Moreover, the usage of digital devices harms our sleep.

In addition to these technologies’ addictiveness which often keeps us awake longer, the type of light they emit further disturbs our circadian rhythm. In other words, screens significantly decrease the quality of our sleep by changing its patterns and duration (Harvard, 2020), especially when the device is used during the hours leading up to bedtime (Sleep Foundation, 2023).

There are other more serious and immediate consequences related to the use of these devices.

For example, 1/4 of car accidents in the USA are caused by texting while driving (ESA, 2022); this figure is likely underestimated because of the lack of drivers' confessions (IIHS, 2023).

The pedestrians' telephone use also increases the potential for accidents.

A pedestrian who is distracted by their phone for just 2 seconds while crossing a road can increase their risk of being hit by a car by up to 80% (ACL, 2021).

Environmentally, the digital industry is destructive.

Developing tech factories, warehouses for internet servers, and extraction sites implies the loss of phenomenal amounts of land, severely impacting ecosystems. Regarding some of the processes themselves, and not including other needed materials, extracting a single ton of lithium releases 15 tons of CO2 (MIT, 2022).

To power digital spaces, an ever-increasing flow of energy is needed. The servers supporting the online world are perpetually active, not counting the calculations by AI processes and other algorithms. All of these activities further contribute to catalysing climate change, and are exacerbated by the colossal quantity of water that is wasted to prevent infrastructural overheating (Stokel-Walker, 2023).

Activities stemming from us consumers such as using social media, the cloud, and streaming services are also significant emitters of CO2. For instance, every minute a person spends on TikTok produces 2.63 grams of CO2 (Government Technology, 2022).

It's hard to calculate exactly how much the whole digital industry contributes to climate change. In 2020, it was estimated as being slightly greater than the global impact of air travel and that it would double by 2025 (Griffiths, 2020). In 2022, newer estimates concluded that the existence of the cloud, all on its own, already has a greater carbon footprint than the entire airline industry (Monserrate, 2022).

In addition to the constant increase of these environmental impacts, many aspects are often unaccounted for, such as the consequences of virtual currency transactions:

A single Bitcoin transaction results in the same carbon footprint as a traveler flying from New York to Amsterdam (Sarlin, 2022).

On a human level, studies indicates that the types of waves released by smartphones may be linked to a decrease in fertility in men (UNIGE, 2023). There is a lack of research regarding women's fertility on this matter, but negative impacts have been shown in non-human female mammals (Shahin, 2017).

These same radiofrequencies have been demonstrated as disturbing animals by impacting the capacity of many to orient themselves, contributing to their decline; this phenomenon has been observed with bees since the beginning of the century (Herriman, 2010).

Furthermore, it has been suggested that these wavelengths may also damage the development of trees and other plants (Waldmann-Selsam et al., 2016).

What can be done?

The usage and production of these technologies both need to be reduced.

Adding to the environmental toll, the psychological and physical obsolescence of these devices make us buy them again and again for reasons such as physical damages or frustrating slow-downs in their software — which are too often implemented without our knowledge (Allyn, 2020). Addictive algorithms are implemented to the detriment of our mental and physical health, impacting the quality of our interactions with the real world (Bouffard et al., 2021).

Knowing the dangers first hand, more and more tech employees seem to hinder their children from using screens (Rudgard, 2018). Some ex-employees from companies like Google and Meta have started to band together to denounce the noxious consequences of the digital industry (Langone, 2018).

It's essential to create serious regulation towards the technological world with respect to the production of devices, their energy consumption, and their socio-psychological impacts.



Thank you for reading !

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Text by Artemis Faulk. Art by Equalimedia.

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