Progress For Progress’ Sake; Positioning by Lily Wharton

The progressive nature of our future scenario is neither wholly positive or negative, and the varying states of the social, political and technological factors within our concept solidify this. In particular, the rapid advancement of technology will lend varying levels of benefit and detriment to varying aspects of society.

Often, these substantial developments in technology – from the latest iPhone iteration to the automation of entire workforces – can be accepted blindly as progressive by the population. And while these technologies offer significant opportunities and will continue to do so, their very nature as “technology” ensures that they cannot bolster every aspect of the human experience. Humans are distinguished by our emotion and self-awareness, and we can’t expect technology to comprehend emotion – and perhaps we shouldn’t want it to. By nature, humans are flawed; so how can we be expected to produce flawless technology?

Numerous studies have proven the undeniable correlation between technology and mental health, predominantly in young people. Those who have grown up immersed in technology, with access to the Internet from early ages, are more susceptible to the addictive, consuming nature of devices. An unwavering engagement with personal technologies has hindered young people’s ability to separate real life and the Internet and created a dependence on the virtual world. In a 2016 study of mobile addiction in students saw that “People who self-described as having really addictive-style behaviours toward the Internet and cell phones scored much higher on depression and anxiety scales” (Banducci, 2016). The same study found that access to a mobile phone allowed many students to feel less sensitive to stressors; however, this reveals a significant dependence on access to devices that could hinge on an unhealthy level.

The burgeoning issue of mental illness sees our 2050 scenario citizens facing many of the same consequences as us today – sleep deprivation, an incapacity to achieve a balance between work, rest and leisure time, a higher vulnerability to to depression and anxiety – though at a potentially critical scale. Technology remains at the core of all of these problems and its increasingly pervasive forms are ensuring a consistent path to the epidemic we have forecast.

These ubiquitous developments in technology have, over time, allowed people great convenience, comfort, and knowledge. However, accepting it not only as progress but as an inevitability dismisses its detrimental effects. As an issue more prevalent in young people who have adapted rapidly to technological change, the perpetually growing nature of technology will only continue to intensify mental illnesses. By our 2050 scenario, the young people of today will be fully developed adults – becoming parents, working in government and contributing to society. If their lives are plagued with a widespread mental health epidemic, what does that mean for the future of our society?

References

Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2010 “Feature Article 2: Mental Health”, accessed 15/10/2017 <http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/1301.0Chapter11082009%E2%80%9310&gt;

Banducci, S. 2016 “Study Links Mobile Device Addiction to Depression and Anxiety”, Illinois News Bureau, accessed 15/10/2017 <https://news.illinois.edu/blog/view/6367/334240&gt;

Browne, R. 2017 “Mental Illness Rates in Young People: Mission Australia and Black Dog Institute”, Sydney Morning Herald, accessed 15/10/2017 <http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/mental-illness-rates-rise-in-young-people-mission-australia-and-black-dog-institute-20170417-gvm93y.html&gt;

Learning Zone Express, 2012 “My Digital Life”, accessed 15/10/2017 <http://uts.kanopystreaming.com/video/my-digital-life&gt;