HUMAN ALIENATION THANKS TO TECHNOLOGY?

Technology influences us in ways that we don´t believe or imagine. It gives us benefits when we use it limitedly and it distracts us when we use it unconsciously, without moderation.

These technologies facilitate the development of society and they give us tools to solve problems that appeared to have no solution.

Nowadays, society is known as an ‘information society’ because technology caused this change.

Now, the people are using technology to communicate; we are losing the habit of ‘face to face’ communication and therefore personal relationships. We have lost our dialogue; we don’t go to libraries anymore, and so on.

We are less dependent on the people around and we are more dependent on technology.

To confirm this idea, we decided to interview people from different generations to see what they thought about technology: a teenager (17 years old), a housewife (44 years old) and a lovely grandmother (75 years old). Here's what they said. 

BerthoTimes: What are social networks? We refer to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, among others.

Teenager: They are part of the ‘Media’, a way to keep society informed.

Housewife: A quick way to stay in touch, because if I compare it with when I was a little girl and I have to send a letter to San Juan, the answer comes to me in a month.

Grandma: I don’t know them.

BT: How often are they used?

T: It depends on each person. There are certain people who are dependent of them and others who are independent. I am dependent on this case because now instead of answering the question, I am answering a Whatsapp message.

H: Exaggeratedly.

G: I do not know them. I have no idea.

BT: What do you think of the initiative of leaving electronic devices aside when socializing?

T: I think it’s a good idea, that way people would talk to each other personally again.

H: Good, It should be left aside (the mobile phone) because people don’t look at you when they speak anymore.

G: I would say that, before technology, we didn’t live with our mobile phones in the hand…we didn’t look like zombies like you do. You can live the same without a mobile phone and if you don’t have one, you just look for a public phone.

BT: Is using the mobile phone a disadvantage during class?

T: No, because I use it to pass tests sometimes. I think this is right…

H: During class, it shouldn’t be used. It is important to have it on you all morning because a responsible parent knows when to reach his or her child. If you were a teacher, would you let a student answer a phone call from his or her mother?

G: It is a disadvantage!! A huge disadvantage because you do not learn anything! You learn things half-way! If I ask a teenager what happened on October 12th, they have no clue!

BT: Are you annoyed when people are using their phones and other electronic devices all the time?

T: If I'm talking about something important and they don’t listen, it is. If it’s not important, then it doesn’t bother me.

H: Yes, because they are disconnected from reality, and they don’t pay attention in the street, adults talk to them and they don’t listen to us because they are aware of the ‘Clin clin’ (phone’s ringtone) and don’t even listen to their mothers!

G: Yes because… I'll tell you: They don’t pay attention when they are crossing streets, railroad tracks. They look silly.

BT: What would you change of technology? 

T: Nothing…it is perfect the way it is; except that it is constantly evolving…and I can’t keep track!

H: There should be a little more privacy because, when you don’t know how to use it it can bring you trouble.

G: Leave those bloody mobile phones or, at the most, use them ONLY when you need them! Back in my day, we waited 15 YEARS for the mobile phone to be invented…and nobody died waiting! Now, if a teenager doesn’t have a mobile –and the last one launched- he or she ‘dies’. They go to the toilet with the phone, just in case. It strikes me because it is foolish. I don’t mean technology overall…but mobile phones!

So…what do YOU think? Are YOU alienated by technology and social networks? It's time for us to leave electronic gadgets aside and start talking to people personally, admiring the world we live in. There's so much beauty! 

Cecilia Gliubizzi and Candela Córdoba - 5th Year

TEENAGERS AND FOOD

Adolescence is a difficult life stage, as it represents the transition between being a child and starting to feel like a ‘grown-up’.

In this period, nutrition also brings difficulties because personality tends to get independent but vulnerable to social standards, which sometimes leads to ignoring meals that shall be replaced by 'pecking' and fast food consumed outside home.

It deserves a special mention the concern that teenagers have with their body image and in which conditions they carry out restrictive diets to get closer to an ideal of beauty, influenced by the social standards of the time, because that can lead to serious eating disorders. Therefore, it is very important that family knows how to pass on to the children respect and love for their body, at the same time as healthy eating habits.

Teenagers have nutritional needs marked by sexual maturation processes: they increase size and weight, body mass and bone mass; so it requires a greater amount of energy and nutrients as carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals, in a balanced way.

The needs are very different among adolescents and depend on their personal characteristics. This justifies the use of different types of diets, which cannot be generalized. Nevertheless, we do have a guide for a diet, indicated in the following Decalogue:

1. Your supply must be varied: our body needs different nutrients to be healthy, no food contains all the nutrients, so we should not always eat the same thing. Enjoy your meals in the company of family and friends, and see what others are eating, you may discover new food to give your body a greater amount of energy.

2. Consume fruits and vegetables: fruits and vegetables contain nutrients that help keep you healthy and are the ideal complement for breakfast, snack, lunch, and dinner.

3. Hygiene is essential for your health: you mustn’t touch food without washing your hands with soap and water first; brush your teeth after every meal and after brushing them at night, do not ingest food or drinks –except water-.

4. Drinking sufficient water is essential to keep the body well hydrated, since more than half of our weight is water. You should take at least 5 glasses of water per day. If it is very hot or you do an intense physical activity, you will have to increase fluid intake.

5. Make gradual changes: do not try to change your eating habits and behavior from one day to another. You'll find it easier to do it little by little, marking you concrete objectives every day, do not dispense with what you like, but try to make your diet balanced and containing all the nutrients.

 6. Consume food rich in carbohydrates: half of the calories in your diet should come from these nutrients, especially processed products made of wheat, cereals, potatoes, yucca and vegetables and not of sweet candies, chocolates and so on.

7. Maintain an appropriate weight for your age, according to your sex, height, body constitution, physical activity that you do, and hereditary factors.

8. Eat regularly: our body needs energy as vehicles need fuel to move. To get up after spending the night without eating, our energy level is very low, so you should have a good breakfast, take your snacks at mid-morning and mid afternoon. Also, your lunch should be full and your dinner should be satisfying.

9. Beam exercises: as a bicycle that is not used gets rusty, the same thing happens with muscles and bones, they must be kept active for them to work well. Try to do some exercise every day, for example take the stairs instead of using the elevator or, if you can, go walking to school. In your free time practice some physical activity.

10. Remember that there is no good or bad food. Avoid excesses: keep in mind that it is no good to eat too much or too little.

To sum up, balance and variety are the keys to make your diet healthy. This is the way to keep a good, strong figure to help you maintain a fine health and an enjoyable life.

Santiago Sevilla, Azul Melgarejo and Margarita Mercado – 5th Year