I sit down on my bed, open my chemistry textbook, and begin taking notes over the stoichiometry chapter. As soon as my pencil touches the paper, I hear a little buzz, and my phone screen lights up, alerting me that someone liked my Instagram post. I open it up to see who it is, and then I start scrolling  and scrolling and scrolling through the pictures posted by various accounts that I follow. By the time I decide to get back to taking notes, thirty minutes has passed without my realizing it.

Technology has had a grip on society for a while, but recently its control over people is becoming more apparent.

I know that we have all heard that speech from our parents: “You spend too much on Snapgram and Instabook! Why don’t you read a real book for once?”

It may be annoying to hear, but the scary thing is that they aren’t wrong. Not only are teenagers and young kids more dependent on technology, but so are our parents, aunts, uncles, and even our grandparents. Most of us are too focused on our streaks and likes and retweets that we don’t have enough time to build healthy relationships or develop ourselves as human beings. Forgetting your phone in your friend’s car or dropping your tablet on the tile floor is similar to being stabbed for some of us, depending on how strong our addiction to technology is.

Spending too much time on technology has negative effects on people. First, it limits your sense of time. Ten minutes on social media could easily feel like two or three minutes. Also, it limits social skills, and sometimes social interaction. I know quite a few middle schoolers who are easily agitated by other human beings and spend more time watching gamer videos on YouTube rather than learning to communicate better with others. In addition, more technology means less privacy, provides less awareness for boundaries, and can lead to inclinations in stress. Physically, more technology use is linked with obesity and poor sleeping habits.

Don’t get me wrong, I love technology. I have no problem with watching a couple episodes of Grey’s Anatomy on Netflix or searching Twitter for proof that Ted Cruz is the Zodiac Killer. However, I also have to say that unplugging for a couple days, or consecrating yourself from technology could have a positive impact. Sometimes churches will have their members abstain from social media for a period of time in order to focus on other things, or individuals choose to put away devices so they can enjoy other activities and opportunities. Participating in something like this could lead us to balance our lives out and contribute to our well-being as humans. It wouldn’t hurt to think about it.