There are a number of benefits associated with technology in the life cycle of a human. This is because technology tends to grow with the people as the people’s needs evolve. This way, you find the use of technology in varied households, in transport, in communication and even as a source of information. It is, therefore, important to identify the different periods in life that individuals use technology in a prevalent way.
The developmental periods are primarily the adolescent period which is characterized by age 13 - 18 and the young adulthood period that spans age 18 – 40 years. These are active periods of the human lifespan and the use of technology is on the rise to the maximum. This is where you find college students exploiting social networks in order to find comfort in others (Gentzler et al., 2011). Communication with parents through email and the need to express oneself through social media is also a major use of technology among young adults.
Humans tend to change and due to this push factor, their behavior improves and they stop doing some things that they were used to (Baltes, 1987). This is the reason you will find adolescents shift to other behavior when they reach young adulthood. It is the same way that their use of technology changes as adolescents transition into adulthood. They will start considering the use of email and the internet for knowledgeable purposes like education or even connections in the business perspective.
The adulthood stage comes with a number of restrictions to the use of technology. You find that people tend to divide time for every aspect of their use of technology. This is where time is allocated to every aspect of technology. The overdependence on technology at this stage deprives the wisdom and knowledge acquired through life skills (Gatto & Tak, 2008). There are instances when these adults over use technology to the extent of forgetting their responsibility or thinking the technology will cover up the gap.
Resources
Baltes, P. B. (1987). Theoretical propositions of life-span developmental psychology: On the dynamics between growth and decline. Developmental Psychology, 23(5), 611-626. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.23.5.611
Gatto, S. L., & Tak, S. H. (2008). Computer, Internet, and e-mail use among older adults: Benefits and barriers. Educational Gerontology, 34(9), 800-811. doi:10.1080/03601270802243697
Gentzler, A. L., Oberhauser, A. M., Westerman, D., & Nadorff, D. K. (2011). College students' use of electronic communication with parents: Links to loneliness, attachment, and relationship quality. CyberPsychology, Behavior & Social Networking, 14(1/2), 71-74. doi:10.1089/cyber.2009.0409
