M/C - Media and Culture Home
M/Cyclopedia Home

Youth Culture and New Technologies - Health

From M/Cyclopedia of New Media
Jump to: navigation, search


Contents

Youth Culture and New Technologies - Health

Youth Culture is generally described as how young people or adolescents who consider themselves as a cultural class or a subculture class people. Nosek and Baer (2000) referred new technologies as computer hardware and software and other new tools that are not currently used in the medical education. Medical technologies help provide medical equipments that aid people. For example, the ultrasound, x-ray machines, CAT-scans and other equipments. Medical equipments help patients to identify their illnesses specifically. Additionally, patients would seek advice from medical practitioners of what medical actions should be taken to improve their physical health. Defining health in a positive way means an individual is healthy and has the ability to cope with everyday activities. However, a negative way of describing health shows that an individual is ill or has dysfunctional body parts.

History

Past experience with media and technology showed that simple awareness of potential dangerous health behavior patterns usually does not leads to lifestyle changes. Additionally, motivation alone quickly fades without support systems to bridge from understanding a problem into altering unhealthy patterns of behavior (Harris, 1995, p.167). Furthermore, when health information and decision support tools were not computerized, patient participantion in the health care process decreased. This would be determined by how well they are connected to the information highway.

Current Issue

Medical professionals are continuously looking for new equipments to help cure patients’ illnesses. There are many concerns about physical health in relation to the use of new technology, such as [radiation] and [tumors], eye sight, [obesity] and other physical health illnesses. In addition, if people in the society continue to neglect on their health, the attitude of ignoring their health will bring no benefit to them at all. For example, addiction to drugs, alcohol, and tobacco has cost billions annually, especially in the United Sates (Harris, 1995, p.167). Furthermore, technology devices also influence one's individual health, such as video games, computer games, mobile phones and other devices.

In today’s society, there are many different technologies that are invented, which can influence an individual’s health. Video games or computer games are examples of technology instruments which influence physical health, especially young people. Video and computer games [1] have played a major role in today’s culture and society around the world. Additionally, a number of youth in today's society are addicted in playing video and computer games. Addiction of playing video or computer games would lead to certain physical symptoms, such as back aches, dry eyes, migraine and other physical symptoms.

Mobile phones are another device which can harm an individual's physical health. In terms of physical health the concern is the effect of long term mobile phone use and the link to tumors. A study by a team from the Karolinska Instsitute found that "the risk of acoustic neuroma was almost doubled for people who started using their mobile at least 10 years prior to diagnosis" These results could indicate a particular problem for young people who start using mobile phones very early in their lives. Long term studies of new technology users will identify the impact these technologies are having on young people.


Future Issues

Advances in computing technology and networking can improve the incorporation of health and human services by interconnecting health experts (Harris, 1995, p.89). This would assist to collaborate across time, space, and organizational boundaries. Additionally, improvements in technology would assist medical professionals to seek or invent better equipments to cure patients’ illnesses.

On the other hand, parents play an important role in preventing youngsters from becoming too addicted to video or computer games and other technological devices (The parent report, 2005). If parents can control their children from not playing too much video or computer games at a young age, their children are most likely not going to develop an addiction behavior towards video or computer games.

Further Information




See also


Youth Culture and New Technologies

Youth Culture and New Technologies - Cyber bullying

Health - Development

Health - Health Problems

Health - Health Problems - Hikikomori

Health - Medical Industries

Information Society - 2channel

Health - Children

Health - Children - RSI

Health - Children - Risks

Health - Further Reading

Health - Obesity

Health - RSI

Health - Tendonitis

References

  • Harris, M. L. (1995) Health and The New Media, New Jersey : Lawrennce Erlbaum Associates






Joanne Chin Li Ling 11:47, 4 Oct 2005 (EST)


Inga Tracey 14:14, 26 Oct 2004 (EST)

Personal tools