Technology and its role in my day-to-day life!

We probably all agree that technology has a significant impact on every aspect of our lives. It has changed the way we communicate, access information, work, entertain ourselves, and even how we manage our health. I think nearly everything I do is dependent on technology, and I cannot imagine my life without it. Here are some key areas where technology has had a great impact on my daily life:

Workplace. Technology has changed my work life. It has opened up opportunities for remote work, automated routine tasks, and collaborations across the world. It allows me to work from home and communicate with my colleagues in real-time. At work, I use tools like email, Teams, Zoom, Google Cloud Platform, project management tools like Trello or Jira, data analysis tools from Excel, MATLAB, and Python to more advanced chemometric software like Unscrambler or Eigenvector. All of these tools make my work life much easier and more efficient.

Education. Thanks to technology I am taking this course online, isn’t that amazing? Technology has created more flexible ways of teaching and learning through online courses, educational applications, and digital libraries which provide me and others access to knowledge anytime and anywhere. For academic purposes, I use the UR Courses learning platform to access this online course, as well as the Zoom communication platform to connect with people online for virtual classes. I also use Microsoft Power Platform, YouTube, and others. One of my favorite web applications is Google Docs which lets me create and edit a document with other people in real-time and from any device. Further, I use Canva for presentations in my diversity and exceptionalities class. Lastly, I am now familiar with Discord and WordPress 🙂

Entertainment. Technology provides immersive entertainment experiences including movies, music, video games, sports broadcasts, streaming services, and interactive TV. For entertainment and leisure, I mostly use Netflix and Amazon Prime for watching my favorite movies and shows, YouTube for listening and watching music videos, and various different online sites for shopping.

Social Life. Technology is a powerful tool for communication, allowing me to connect with my family and friends over the Internet across the world. My family is back home, in Ukraine, and I cannot imagine not being able to call and see them at any time using WhatsApp or Viber. In my personal time, I use a lot of social media apps like Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook.

Tech-Related Distractions and Strategies to Minimize Them

Technology has undoubtedly made our lives easier, more convenient, and efficient. It has offered us new opportunities in many areas. However, technology can be very addictive. According to multiple research studies, it was found that there is a strong link between heavy social media use and an increased risk for depression, anxiety, and loneliness. Have you ever checked how many hours of screen time you spend a day? Check out the average screen time statistics for 2024. I found these quite shocking.

• Loss of productivity. Personally, I find technology very distracting. It can take up valuable hours of my day. My work and school require me to spend most of my time in front of a screen, and outside of these activities, I still spend an average of 3 hours on my phone every day. I often catch myself scrolling through Instagram posts and reels for at least 15 minutes when I thought I would quickly open it to check my messages. I am working on finding a balance and setting up boundaries to ensure a healthy relationship with technology. One of the strategies I use to stay focused on my task is to turn on a “do not disturb” mode on my phone. This way, I am not tempted to respond to every text, call, or notification because I will not know they are there until I am ready to take a break and see what I missed. I also disable notifications on my watch, so it does not trigger me to check my phone.

• Poor quality of sleep. In addition, I have noticed that using technology, especially social media, before bedtime negatively affects my sleep quality. I practice a screen-free time for at least an hour before bed to allow my body to wind down and prepare for sleep. Instead of scrolling through my phone before bed, I can take my dog for a walk, read a book, relax, listen to music, take a bath, or do anything else that does not involve looking at a screen. I recommend using the Headspace app which offers short meditation sessions. It helps me to clear my mind of chatter and teaches me to stay focused and attentive to the present moment.

All in all, technology is advancing at a rapid pace. Technology has transformed my life for the better in many ways. I believe that technology has a lot to offer, especially in education. Nowadays, elementary school kids have classes on computers, and many of them have been using computers, phones, and tablets at home even before they started school. As a future educator, I want to stay up to date with technology because that will help me to feel closer to my students. I will use various tech tools to improve their learning experiences and deliver the knowledge in the best way possible. Although technology is a part of our daily lives and is an essential tool for work, education, entertainment, and social life, it is important to develop healthy tech habits and provide guidance and support to help our kids use technology responsibly and effectively.