Common Addictions in Society
In 21st century, science and technology develops so quickly in a big step that people cannot keep up with using them properly. Take a look at our society – Hong Kong: people are addicted to, for example, MP3, Internet, mobile phones, air-con., TV, PC, etc. Though these electrical appliances are essential in the modern time, some people indulge in them. This essay will try to identify three most common addictions among Hong Kong people in relation to technology, namely the overuse of mobile phones, gaming and what I call air-con addiction.
First, people in Hong Kong are addicted to using the mobile phones. We can see that many people, especially the youngsters, take their phones out on anytime and anywhere, for example in the MTR, when waiting for buses, studying, even at the wedding reception. Since using intelligent mobile becomes a trend nowadays, everyone is doing the same. Somehow those who do not have an intelligent phone seem odd! Of course, as technology is advancing, temptations are raising too. Overusing the mobiles is just like an addiction, which also brings a lot of negative effects. As mentioned, mobile addicts use their phones on all occasions. Therefore, overusing phones definitely affects people’s working attitude. They will be distracted from the work which requires their full attention. Their working effectiveness and working efficiency are likely to fall, and the quality of work is going to drop as well. Besides, always checking your mobile when working or studying, you will run a higher risk of being fired or getting bad results. Moreover, overusing mobile may disturb people’s daily life. It was found that too much eye contact with the screen will worsen the sleeping quality or even lead to insomnia. It may also reduce the sleeping hours as longer time is spent on the phone. Furthermore, it may affect the language skills because SMSs usually contain symbols, abbreviations and allow grammatical mistakes. Worse, some people change their phones when there are new models, and additional fees for excess SMS, excess phone time and excess Internet use are huge, etc. Think about the money that totals. To prevent this addiction, you can ask someone like your parents to monitor your use of the mobile for entertainment and set a monthly budget.
Gaming is the second problem. I believe playing video games is very popular in Hong Kong, especially among the teens. In fact, too much gaming occupies too much time which can be spared for work and rest. Once you are addicted to it, you will be unconscious of time flying, then, your original plans will be seriously delayed, deadlines cannot be met or you’ll have less time to rest, then not enough spirit to work and study. Besides a gaming addict may spend a large sum of money buying game clips and game points (they are some special commodities in a game). It is a waste of money. These addicts may even become bad tempered and violent. Related news reports will tell us, for instance, the son beat his father because he was not allowed to play computer games. Addiction to gaming is usually due to lack of self-discipline. Sometimes it may be a way to evade troubles and miseries in reality. To stop this, parents should play a role to regulate, restrict and even forbid their children from playing video games. The addicts should seek help to solve the problems so that they do not have to rely on gaming to relieve. Or they can find some other interests that are more meaningful, such as playing sports, studying music and arts, reading and so on. Whenever they spend less time and money on gaming, it is easier for them to quit.
Third, there is the unique air-con addiction in Hong Kong. What is air-con addiction? It is common that Hong Kong people turn their air-con on at high cool 10 during summer regardless of the room temperature, or even though they feel cold actually. On the buses, in the shopping malls, classrooms, offices, and at home, people would put on a scarf or coat if they feel cold other than turning off the air-con or adjusting the temperature. This ‘un- necessity’ is just like an addiction. Such behavior wastes money and electricity, produces more pollutants and increases the possibility of catching a cold. I think the main reason for this phenomenon is that most Hong Kong people have poor sense of environmental protection. So the government ought to educate the public about the concept of frugality.
Our world is in an era of technology. New devices and skills come up in a rate beyond human’s control. Addictions come with temptations. We have to exercise self-discipline in our daily life so that we can be exempted from becoming victims of them.