There is no doubt that the advances in technology have been remarkable. For this 65 year old guy, when I was a child, science fiction pictures about the future would show people seeing each other in videos when they spoke on a phone, having cars that told them how to get to their destinations and operating financially in cashless societies where transactions were done in means other than writing checks or handing over cash. Well, lo and behold, here we are…LOTS of technology that has changed so many aspects of our lives.
We all carry smart phones, own laptops or desktop computers and have access to the worldwide internet. These amazing technology devices provide an incredible capacity to do so many things….ranging from communicating in video chars with people around the world (for free), obtaining new/weather/other information on a real-time basis, buy items that will, in most cases, arrive at your door the very next day and be entertained by the music channels or streaming movie services that are not limited to the house television set or radio.
So, here is the question: When you evaluate your use of technology as this relates to your weight control efforts, do you feel this is a positive “tool” or negative one? Are you using your smart phone mostly to order pizzas by emoji, check your social media feeds and text incessantly with your friends/relatives OR are you using apps to journal your food/water intake, track your exercise, work out to a video training session or in other ways, helping your weight control efforts?
I believe the answer to the question posed above is an important one for all of us to answer to ourselves. The obesity rate in our country 60 years ago was 1/3 of what it is now. Back in 1960 none of this technology existed. I am not implying that advanced technology is the only reason why obesity has become epidemic in the U.S., but I do believe it is one of the major reasons. Technology has made it easy to become lazy from a physical aspect as well as consume time that could be better spent on exercise, meal planning and otherwise focusing on health.
If/when you take a step back, evaluate your use of technology and come to the conclusion that you have fallen prey to the detrimental impact on your weight control efforts, try very hard to correct this situation. Instead, focus on how technology can positively affect your journey and take those steps needed to redirect the usage.
There was a Luke Wilson in 2006 called ‘Idiocy” and this was about a military guy that mistakenly was “hibernated’ for hundreds of years instead of one, and when he comes out of hibernation, he sees a society with amazing technology, yet the population are mostly idiots. Clearly, the writers of this movie foresaw a situation where technology was negatively impactful on the intellectual development of the population. I believe the last 60 years has shown technology to be negatively impactful on our weight control. Let’s all do something about this.