- The heyday of the internet has brought several benefits but also some harm to people’s physical and mental health.
- The main problem is when people become dependent on a device or a social network.
- Within this new group of diseases are the Syndrome of the imaginary message, nomophobia and FOMO.
The world changes every day and the field of health is no exception. These changes have been both for and against. Now it’s so easy to keep up with what’s happening in the rest of the world just by checking your phone. Although comfort prevails, there is also a worrying aspect. It’s about the technopathologies, which are known as the new diseases of the 21st century.
In that sense, technology is a powerful tool that aims to make everyday life easier. Both at work and at school it is very useful and is a way to save time.
In your case as a doctor you can appreciate it in your working life. Online medical consultations are becoming more and more common. Now it is not necessary to be in the same physical space as the patients to fulfill the service. Everything can be carried out remotely and with the same results.
When technology offers more harm than good
But now it is time to know the negative point of the use and abuse of digital tools. All this leads to technopathologies, a term with which a group of new diseases of recent creation has been baptized. The description of it covers all the physical, psychological and social alterations caused by the excessive and inappropriate use of social networks and technologies.
In that sense, perhaps you have noticed with your patients that some have become dependent on some technological device. When it happens, it generates anxiety and addiction problems, in addition to causing damage to their different daily activities. Therefore, it is very important to talk to them and offer them adequate treatment.
Some specialists also call them diseases 2.0 because its appearance arose along with the heyday of the internet. One of the most popular and that has expanded today is the nomophobia, which refers to people who develop an irrational fear of living without their cell phone. This can lead to various problems of stress, panic and addiction similar to those of a smoker or alcoholic.
The dangers of dependence on electronic devices
Another disease is the one baptized as the Imaginary message syndrome. It is a way in which it is called those who stop doing activities of their daily life in order to keep an eye on their cell phone. Which alters their perception of things and causes alterations in their reality such as imagining received messages.
Finally, another of the most numerous diseases is known as FOMO. It is a way that people who have an abnormal fear of staying isolated from the environment are called. digital world, Therefore, they constantly need to check their personal social network accounts, which can lead to violent attitudes if someone prevents them.
The above are only a sampling of some technopathologies that have appeared in recent years. Failure to attend to them can lead to more severe effects that can put the health of patients at risk. That is why it is very important to always maintain constant communication.