Thought-Provoking Articles

Many parents spend more time with their children than their-wait wait wait, nope, it’s switched and it’s quite tragic. This is the real statement : Many parents spend more time with their smartphone than their very own children. Yes, it is true, and this is not a joke. One may think, what, impossible, never! You see, smartphones are extremely addicting. People can do many things on it, whether it’s social media, games, videos and non-stop texting. These things make people addicted, and when they are addicted, they tend to forget what is happening around them and who is there around them. Some parents may be addicted to the screen. These parents may have just started social media and all when they left their parent’s house or they may have been allowed to have phones and do whatever on the phones as a child. Either way, it doesn’t benefit their children.

 

When one thinks of a nice happy family, the picture which comes to your mind could be anything, whether it’s children on the couch with their parents watching a movie or tv show, or children playing on the beach with their parents, or even, parents helping their children study. The point is, the parents are with the children, they are spending time together with their children and most importantly, everyone is enjoying whatever they are doing(hopefully). This is what we want to have in real-life and unfortunately, not everywhere this occurs.

 

 However, there is another way of a happy family, and it is a terrible way. Imagine a mom or dad who are both on their phone, sitting on the couch, they have no care in the world as to what is happening around them, they are enjoying social media, or games, or whatever. Now the kids are most likely used to this, so they are probably eating chocolates or whatever they want to eat. Or even, they may have found one of their parent’s old phones, figured how to start it up, and now are using it to play games or do social media. This is a happy family, however not a happy, together family. Everyone is happy, but they are not happy because they are with their family, they are happy because they can do whatever they wish to do on their phone.

We have discussed about parents who have no care in the world, but have we discussed about children who are allowed to do whatever they wish on their phone, even with parents who have set limits? We didn’t discuss this, and now we will. Imagine this, a mom tells their child to sit at the dinner table, please no phones. Now the kid, who is addicted to phones will walk in and sit. The kid will take out their phone and maybe start scrolling on social media. Now, the mom gets mad, because she said no phones at the table. The kid, who again, is addicted will say I don’t care or whatever. The mom will be like, oh you better. So the kid will get mad cause the kid’s brain is heated up from looking at the screen the whole day and doing nothing but that. The kid will most likely start shouting at the mother and then refuse to eat. What can the mother do? She needs her child to eat, but she wants to enforce good habits. 

 

Well, guess what mother, you are late, and you clearly made the wrong decision of letting your child even have a phone! You see, the appropriate age to let your child have a phone is well, when they need it, and instead of letting your child do whatever they want on their phone for thirty minutes a day,(or something like that) let’s imagine… say you are dropping your child off for a science fair which is the whole day. What you can do is give them the phone, put proper limits, no games, no social media, and of course no youtube or anything like that. Now, your child can only call or text. Oh but wait, there’s more. You should only let your child have contact with family members. So parents, siblings(if you trust), and an emergency contact. No friends or anyone else. That way, they won’t be texting their friends the whole time. Who knows what they might do?

 

Now, when your child comes back from Science Fair, ask them to hand their phone to you. That way, the phone is with you. If you don’t trust your child with that, then you can get a safe which only opens to your fingerprint. Isn’t that like too much? Children can go a long way for something they want, but your fingerprint? Nope, impossible(unless, you have fingerprint copiers with your fingerprint lying around). You can also install an app on your child’s phone so that you can monitor what they’re doing. If you really want to know what they’re doing, and not just the website they visit, you can get an app where it records their screen. You can view whatever they do and visit as the app will save each day's history. You also probably shouldn’t tell your child you installed that app. As we mentioned earlier, Children can go a long way for something they want. You should also delete each day's history after watching just so you don’t keep paying money for storage. Anyway, the point is monitoring what your child does on their phone, you should know of and be aware.

In conclusion, smartphones are really terrible. They can destroy someone’s life without that person knowing it, because a person who is on their phone non-stop is definitely not enjoying their life as much as a person who is doing work, solving problems, and traveling the world. It is important to save the world, but if we are all on our smartphones, not doing anything else but looking at the screen, then climate change will go out of control. We will be on our couches and soon the whole earth will demolish without us even realizing. So, resist that urge to spend the whole day on your smartphone and instead, you should spread the word and do some fun activities.

Have you ever heard the phrase sitting is the new smoking?

 

One major action humans take which is terrible for their health is sitting. That’s right, sitting. Sitting is very harmful to humans in multiple ways. Sitting for long periods of time kills even if you do exercise on a daily basis. Just because someone is older, it doesn’t give them the right to sit for long periods of time and not get affected by side effects. Instead, those people can take stretch breaks, or do small exercises like jumping jacks or sit ups. These exercises are simple and small, but they can be effective. If anyone does even 10 jumping jacks and like 1-2 sit ups per 30 minutes they spend sitting, then they can save themselves. It’s as easy as that.

 

 Now, what are the major side effects of sitting? The major side effects of sitting include diabetes, poor heart health, back pain, weight gain, high cholesterol, depression, dementia and multiple different types of cancer. Some types of cancer you can get from sitting are as follows, lung cancer, uterine cancer and colon cancer. Humans should stop sitting at one place for multiple hours, watching television the whole day and of course instead of not doing this, do this, care about your health. Cause if you don’t care about your health now, then it’ll soon be too late to start later. Remember, the sooner the better. 

Instead of doing all these negative things, here are some things you should do, when you do have to sit in one place for long periods of time, you can take stretch breaks. You should, as always, care about your health, and spread the word. It’s good to help those around you too. If you take a bus or train, instead of sitting on the seats, stand. During lunch, if possible, you can take a walk and eat your lunch rather than sitting on a chair or stool and eating. If you can, leave your car at home and take the bike or walk to where you are headed whether it’s work, doctor’s office or even the grocery store. As long as you are careful, biking or walking is not a bad idea. If you take the bus or train, and you don’t wanna stand the whole way, you can get off the train/bus one to two stops early.

 

 Even though doing exercise doesn’t let you actually sit the whole day without side effects, it may help prevent you from sitting. For example, you come back from work, and you sit down and start watching TV. Instead, you could maybe go to the pool and do a few laps or do dancing or yoga or maybe even rock climbing! Now, if one wants to watch a movie, instead of sitting on the couch or sofa and watching, one can do some exercise for the first few minutes and then one can stand and iron the clothes and stretch. All this, even though it takes little effort, can really help prevent any of the diseases one can develop by sitting. 

In conclusion, sitting is extremely harmful to one’s health. Sitting can lead to many terrible side effects such as obesity, poor heart health, back pain and many more. To prevent this, it's essential to take control of our daily habits and follow well-being guidelines. This includes incorporating regular physical activity, standing up and moving around frequently. By making these changes in our life, we can prevent getting any of the side effects from sitting but also prevent dying just because one sat too much. It is very important to prioritize our well-being and take the right steps to reduce the number of people affected by sitting.

The Effects Of Sedentary Behavior

 

Higher levels of sedentary behavior have been identified as a significant risk factor for various health conditions, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, and increased mortality rates. Even when individuals meet recommended levels of moderate to vigorous physical activity, prolonged periods of sitting remain independently associated with these health risks. This mounting evidence underscores the importance of not only engaging in regular exercise but also reducing sedentary time throughout the day.

 

The link between sedentary behavior and adverse health outcomes has spurred extensive research efforts across public health and biomedical disciplines. Researchers have focused on understanding how sedentary lifestyles contribute to chronic diseases and mortality, leading to calls for interventions that target both individual behaviors and environmental factors.

 

Historically, there has been a notable decline in physically demanding jobs over the past five decades, with a 58% reduction in roles requiring moderate to vigorous physical activity. This shift has contributed to a decrease in occupational physical activity by approximately 142 kcal per day per person. As a result, many adults now spend an average of 7.8 hours per day in sedentary work environments, making it a primary contributor to daily sedentary time outside of sleep.

 

Addressing sedentary behavior at the workplace has emerged as a critical area of focus for interventions aimed at improving public health. Strategies have increasingly targeted the modification of micro-environmental factors within workplaces, schools, and homes to promote more active behaviors and reduce prolonged sitting. These efforts are based on the premise that even small increases in light-intensity physical activities throughout the day can help mitigate the health risks associated with sedentary behavior.

 

Studies have shown that interventions designed to reduce workplace sedentary time often prioritize changes in the work environment, such as the availability of standing desks, walking meetings, and prompts for regular movement breaks. By integrating these environmental changes, organizations aim to create cultures that support healthier behaviors among employees.

 

Moreover, addressing sedentary behavior requires a multifaceted approach that also considers individual motivation and behavior change. New strategies are needed to empower individuals to recognize the importance of reducing sedentary time and to adopt more active lifestyles both at work and in their daily routines. This motivational approach complements environmental modifications by fostering a culture of health and wellness within communities and workplaces.

 

Looking forward, the challenge remains to develop comprehensive strategies that effectively reduce sedentary behavior across different settings and populations. This includes leveraging technological advancements to provide real-time feedback on sitting habits, promoting policies that support active transportation and workplace wellness programs, and raising awareness about the health consequences of prolonged sitting.

 

In conclusion, while regular exercise is crucial for health, addressing sedentary behavior represents a distinct and equally important public health goal. By implementing interventions that encourage frequent movement and reduce prolonged sitting, individuals and communities can potentially mitigate the risks associated with sedentary lifestyles and improve overall health outcomes. Continued research and collaboration across disciplines will be essential to develop and implement effective strategies that promote a more active and healthier society.

 

 

Resources:

Keadle, S. K., Conroy, D. E., Buman, M. P., Dunstan, D. W., & Matthews, C. E. (2017). Targeting Reductions in Sitting Time to Increase Physical Activity and Improve Health. Medicine and science in sports and exercise, 49(8), 1572–1582. https://doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0000000000001257