Dear Editor: Stress, not Technology, is the Real Killer

Dear Editor,

Over the past week, more or less, I’ve been doing a bit of thinking on the subject of this generation’s reliance on technology and the detrimental effect it had.

I originally wrote, “technology is killing us,” though I DID acknowledge later that it’s actually stress that’s the real killer! This is true enough, but when it comes down to it, we really must admit, we’re doing it to ourselves!

Over the past century or so, technology has made great leaps most seemingly, or purportedly, for the better. In fact, many of the leaps made were the stuff of dreams in the distant past! In that vein, the standard of living we currently enjoy far surpasses, in many ways, that of our great-grandparents, possibly even our grandparents. Diseases that would very likely have ended in death 100+ years ago, possibly even less, are now “curable” with the administration of a few lethal, I mean legal drugs. Some have even been stopped almost dead in their tracks by a “simple” vaccine. I’m not trying to sway anyone either way on THAT issue, though!

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy my technology as much as the next person...when it works, that is. When it doesn’t live up to my expectations, I’m ready to chuck it out the window, whether it’s my laptop, printer, or even my “smart” phone!

As I said “stress is the real killer” for teenagers in particular, though it adversely affects all ages, the stress brought on by our over-reliance on technology is detrimental in many ways. Lack of sleep, though not always the most obvious, is probably the most important area here. Certain games popular amongst our kids have also proven to be of great detriment to our society, as well as certain popular apps. Another such issue is our reliance on conveniences such as Google or Siri. For that matter, who wears a watch anymore, or do figures in their head, like we used to? How about memorizing phone numbers?

Another way technology is having an adverse effect on our generation has one foot in the realm of conspiracy theory. The introduction of 5G had the CT world in an uproar. There’s a lot more available information on the internet - just Google it! You might find interesting bits, like how the release of new technology in the past has strangely coincided with the emergence of new diseases, or new strains of old ones. There may be something to this one though, as the effect of certain frequencies on our physical and mental bodies is well-documented.

Technology can be a good thing! On the medical side, it has given us longer lives, though it could be asked, “Is it worth the price we’re paying?” In the day-to-day, all these modern conveniences have made life a lot easier, though again it should be asked, “Is it worth it?” Yes, we can get from point A to point B a lot faster, though along with this have inevitably come higher automobile death rates. On the homefront, there is the microwave and what it is undoubtedly doing to the already nutrient-depleted food we eat. The list goes on and on.

Charles Haddon Shank

Whitehall, Montana