Almost everyone is very tied in to technology today.  There are many pros and cons for spending so much time on the computer and high tech phone.  But when an individual is addicted to technology and feels compelled to spend hours a day or they feel like they can’t live without it the cons begin to outweigh the pros more strongly.

Here are some of the pros for using advanced technology:

• Technology has made it easier to gain a wider knowledge base.
• Technology has created a new community where people can share their ideas, promote their inventions, and test their designs.
• New inventions in technology in medicine have extended human life span.
• Technology has let simulations test inventions and designs before having to make costly prototypes.
• Technology lets people have equal opportunities.  Because you can’t see how someone looks when they submit something over the internet, to some extent it circumvents prejudice.
• The internet lets people have opportunities across wider distances.
• Technology lets addiction geeks improve their motor skills.

Some people argue it is those who use technology 24/7 who make the breakthroughs.  When we’ve gained so much from technology, what’s a little addictive behavior?

What are some of the disadvantages?  Some of the most obvious cons are:

• Technology can be a huge distraction from what is important like family, friends, work, school, exercising, and the real world where sunlight shines.
• Technology, especially when it becomes addictive, may lead to other sedentary compulsive behaviors like compulsive overeating, watching pornography online, excessive monitoring and posting on social media sites, and excessive playing of online video games.
• Many studies show that using too much technology leads to a shorter attention span.  We expect our search results to come up in less than two seconds or we get aggravated and then pretty soon we expect everything to be super fast.
• Always emailing, Facebooking, texting, and e-learning without actually going to classes promotes a lack of face to face contact which has been known to cause depression.

Using technology is a fact of life in this day and age.  The question is how do you know if you are addicted?  What amount of usage is too much?  When should you cut back?  When do you cross over the line from a productive user to an addicted user? These questions are all subjective.

Most people feel the pros outweigh the cons because technology allows people to grow by sharing new ideas, and as technology evolves people are inventing and designing new and interesting gadgets and methods to keep up.

As a guideline, the cons outweigh the pros if:

• You are not getting out to a face to face social event at least once a week.
• You are not getting out of the house other for activities other than work.
• You are spending most of your free time sitting.
• You spend nine hours or more in front of the computer.
• You spend four hours or more in front of the TV.
• No one can decide the answer the personal question of technology pros versus cons for you except you.  But a healthy social life, volunteering, and daily exercise are three of the most important factors in happiness and longevity so experts encourage using technology wisely.

Author Bio: Joel is the Marketing lead at Idea design studio. Idea Design Studio is a product development firm that specializes in top-of-the-line design work for inventors. If you have any question on how to get invention help  just contact Idea Design Studio.