Only about 50 years ago you had to leave the house if you wanted to listen to music, watch a movie, or see your friends. Now technology has made it so you don’t even have to leave your couch to do those things. You have music on your iPod, TV from your laptop, and vacuums, dishwashers and washing machines that clean everything for you. Heck, you don’t even have to go to the grocery store anymore because of grocery delivery services. It’s too easy for humans to be lazy now.
50 years ago everyone was excited about the future of new technology, but now I’m here wondering what more advancements to technology mean for our health. People are complaining that hover boards and jet packs aren’t accessible yet. What’s wrong with actually pushing skateboards ourselves? Any new piece of technology that comes out just makes it so we get to move a little less (if that’s even possible at this point).
We sit around all day on our phones and laptops, and surprisingly enough, that’s exhausting. Most people come home from a day of work and decide they are too tired from sitting all day to work out, so they instead choose to sit some more and watch TV to unwind.
People need to realize that being active gives you energy. You need the oxygen from exercising to feel energized. We need to sweat and move in order to be healthy. The past 50 years is when obesity, diabetes, and a handful of other diseases have really become a problem. I find it no coincidence that the world became fatter when technology started to make life easier. Instead of using the time we save with this new technology to browse the internet, we should be using it to go outside, move, dance, and workout.
Some people use technology for good. For example, I write these blog posts to promote health and post free workouts on the Internet every week. There are many people who do that. Technology is also great for tracking your progress and keeping you accountable for working out with products like the FitBit. Wireless products at the very least offer us the opportunity to move with our technology, although many people don’t choose to do so.
I’m not bashing all technology. Like I said before, some technology has helped people improve their health tremendously. I just want to encourage those of you who find technology as a distraction or excuse to stop doing that and get active again!