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I know what you are thinking… You don’t want to start reading this post. You love your household electronics and you do not need to find out that they are some sort of horrible thing that must be done away with.
At least, that’s how I always feel when I come across blog posts that are titled like this one. Never fear, I’m a bit of a modern crunchy mama. I like my technology. In fact, just today we got a new screen to use! Oh dear!
However, like many things, they aren’t perfectly safe and it’s always a good thing to know what we are dealing with and ways to at least reduce the harmfulness (even if we aren’t ready to get rid of those devices entirely.)
6 Reasons to be Concerned About Household Electronics
Electromagnetic Fields
Electromagnetic Fields or EMF are put out by any electronic device you might use. This ranges from minor things like your lamp to the bigger EMF producers like your wi-fi. EMF’s are something to be concerned about.
It was once thought that only the really big EMF producers (like x-rays were the things that could cause damage to our DNA. However, we are now discovering that even the minor EMF producers (like our wi-fi and hairdryers) can cause breaks in our DNA and effect us.
Studies out there are still a bit vague and nobody is coming out with recommendations on what a safe level of EMF’s look like but one thing is certain… EMF’s have not been proven universally safe.
This is a practice I tend to follow. I’d rather limit or avoid something until I know it’s safe then to use something and then realize that all those years, I was doing damage.
Less Zzzz’s
Electromagnetic Fields also decreases melatonin production. Melatonin production is what gives us better sleep quality and a better immune system.
Many are plagued with poor sleep now and while there are many reasons why that may be the case for each individual, EMF’s are definitely a contributor to consider.
If it’s a screen displayed electronic then you’ll also want to read up on how blue light affects our sleep.
Less Productivity
Now if what you do highly depends on electronic devices (say like blogging!) then it might seem like limiting electronics would be counter productive. However, you would be amazed at how much you will actually accomplish when you are making use of screens.
Sometimes you might need screens to get work done but screens have a way of making us lazy. Think about how much time we waste just scrolling through our phone apps or watching tv. Does any of that really benefit us? Not likely! Turn those screens off and suddenly we are reading, working on projects, or batch cooking!
Less Attention Span
Confession time. When was the last time you watched an entire movie or had an entire meal without looking at your phone? I remember when I thought it was crazy that people would check their phones even once while doing those things but now I find myself in the same camp.
I’m horrified to admit that I generally can’t even watch a really interesting half-hour show without scrolling through my phone at least once or twice.
While we might not all have ADD, I think it’s safe to say that electronics have definitely decreased our attention span. We’ve become a society that can’t focus on one thing for longer than a few seconds this is bad news for our concentration and memory skills.
We are Losing Real Relationships
Electronic devices make it all to easy to hide away behind a screen and not really connect with someone. This is mainly true when you have real people sitting in front of you and yet you are scrolling through your phone.
However, I think the same can be said of those who (like me) do most of their socialization through screens. You see, I’m an introvert, I know I might not seem like that since I do all this “talking” via my blog but I really and truly am a quite homebody. Connecting with people through screens is easier on me but it’s also less real.
We lose building true relationships and interactions with people when we are caught up with our electronics. Instead we detach ourselves from people and we forget how to interact with those we love.
Less Life
Now I’m not talking about shorter lifespan, although I imagine that using our electronics and higher EMF exposure probably does shorten our lifespan, no I’m talking about less living.
Do you feel like you are really living life to the fullest when you spend all day on your various screens? Does your food taste better when it’s zapped in the microwave? When we distance ourselves from electronics, we start living better.
Nobody is likely to regret not watching more tv when they are at the end of their life… they are likely to regret not doing more, living more, getting out into the real world more! Why wait till we are at the end of our lives?
