Quite often you’ll hear that the advancements in technology are bad for your health: social media is damaging for mental health; too much screen time is bad for sleep, bad for development, and can damage your eyes; too much technology is making people lazy and therefore making people obese, and so on and so on. And while there may be some truth to some of these claims, advancements in technology are also benefiting your health in ways you may not be aware of and these benefits are certainly outweighing the negatives. 

Apps Are Changing The Healthcare Industry

Smartphone apps are dominating most industries now and the healthcare industry is no different. From smart apps for hearing aids to symptom checkers, apps are empowering people, arming them with more knowledge than they have ever had before, and giving patients more control over their medical care and medical decisions. It’s not just about finding out information either, smart apps are also used in the treatment and entire tests can now be carried out through a smartphone and simple attachments can now be added to monitor blood sugar and even carry out blood tests. 

People Are Becoming More Aware

Thanks to technology, people know more about their own health and the risks to their health than ever before. Having so much access to information has helped to raise awareness for lesser-known diseases but it has also helped to shine a light on health in general. The internet is somewhere you can find a calorie count for just about everything, it is somewhere you can find free workouts to follow in your living room, and somewhere you can search your symptoms if you’re worried about something. 

Technology Can Increase Motivation

While people talk about technology making people lazy, sitting around all day on their phones or computers, technology has actually helped many people to stay motivated in changing their lifestyle. Again, thanks to the internet, people can find others who are suffering the same problems they are, are on the same journey as they are, they can read motivational stories from people who have reversed their diabetes or people who couldn’t run for one minute and are now running a marathon. Technology allows people to connect, it allows access to information and if used in the right way can motivate people to lead healthier lifestyles. 

Technology Keeps People On Track

While most people know about the apps which track fitness and nutrition, some devices you don’t realize are tracking your health, for example, you may not know it, but your iPhone is tracking how many steps you’ve taken and the MyFitnessPal app you download on it is too, along with your calorie count. But as well as this there are also some devices that can help people track their medications and give them reminders of when to take them. You can pretty much track anything these days and if there isn’t an app for it yet, there will be soon. 

Technology Improves Communication 

Forget people talking about how technology means that people don’t talk anymore, actually technology has increased communication and improved the quality of it in health care. Doctors are using digital platforms such as MyChart to communicate with their patients by sharing lab results, sending messages, setting up appointments, and keeping records. Digital communication has improved the overall relationship between doctors, nurses, and patients as well as ease jobs for medical professionals as they can easily access someone’s medical records to better prepare for diagnosis.

Technology Can Help To Prevent Health Problems 

Technology has meant that medical conditions can be detected and predicted earlier than before. With so much data available, medical professionals are able to see patterns and determine whether someone is on course to suffering from a problem and can help to stop it before it’s too late. Interpreting algorithms and gene mapping have all been made possible by technology as well as screenings which have been enabled by advanced lab technology; for example, Cancer screening uses technology to check for abnormal cells, and then steps can be taken to remove or treat the case to stop it from spreading.

Technology Has Enabled People To Have More Privacy

Today, with so much access to information, people are able to research their symptoms online and in private in the first instance before going to the doctor. While this isn’t always advised as there is so much information online, one thing it can do is help people to realize that their symptoms are normal and there is nothing to be embarrassed about. This can give them the confidence to go to the doctor and get it sorted.