Like most things in life, technology has its positives and negatives. It is hard to imagine a world today without it but it is important to remember when it was not the center of our universe. I have always heard stories from my parents about how they witnessed technology evolve. It can be shocking to see how much technology has evolved, even over the past 20 years. Something as common as the cell phone we all have today, once started as a large block connected to a wall. Being born in 2002 I was around eleven before receiving my first smart phone device and got to experience the effects technology has on us. Today, technology acts as a mode of entertainment, news, and education. This can be a valuable resource if treated the correct way. However, some take advantage of these benefits and it can become unhealthy. It is important to evaluate your personal relationship with technology and how you use it to benefit yourself.
My relationship with technology is fairly healthy but I can also recognize my unhealthy tendencies with it. Although I depend on it heavily, over the years, I have worked on only using it when it is necessary. There are days I catch myself scrolling through Instagram for hours and feel disappointed in myself or I will be in a group of friends and reach for my phone when I should be engaging with the people in front of me. These urges were developed later than how it is today. Today, children are born into all different types of tablets, phones, and other types of electronics. When I was growing up I still had to use my creativity to entertain myself and used blocks and other non-battery operated products for education. I believe having these memories has helped me to stay reasonable with my use of technology. But, this is me personally and cannot be said about everyone born around the same time as me.
I conducted my own research and asked my followers on instagram if they considered their relationship with technology healthy or unhealthy. This mimicked a study done by David Schramm, Utah State University assistant professor and Extension family life specialist.The study I conducted remained around 50/50 leaning more towards unhealthy. This is similar results to what Schramm conducted. He received feedback claiming, 53% of people say they spend too much time focusing on technology. I found it interesting to see how individuals self evaluate their relationship with technology and how universal the results are.
Personally, technology has benefitted me more than not. Because of technology I am able to stay in constant communication with friends and family members I do not see often. Through text messages and Social Media I am able to stay up to date and connected with those people and maintain relationships. I also use technology to stay up to date on the news whether from a political standpoint or entertainment standpoint. These are all positive affects technology has on me. But these concepts can also be negative. We see a lot now more than ever people feeling left out and developing a type of "FOMO". 
I do not feel I am one to judge the way others use technology and make a claim if they use it healthily or not. That is why it is important for everyone to take the time to self evaluate their personal relationship with it and to recognize when it becomes unhealthy and what that unhealthy is for them. However, I have been in circumstances that I have seen unhealthy behavior with technology. Going to restaurants we all know and see families who are out and their heads are glued to their screens. This doesn't just go for the younger generations but parents and grandparents do so as well. Yes, technology can help with communication it can also damage the times we communicate in person. We should use these times we have with people to build on those relationships and not the ones on our phones. There is a true time and place for everything.
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