What Are the Negative Effects of Industrialization?
Industrialization negatively affects the environment as well as health. In addition to pollutants released into the environment, industrialization also causes negative effects health by promoting a primarily indoor lifestyle. Studies have linked a lack of outdoor exposure to increased stress, obesity and decreased immune systems.
Global warming is just one of the many negative effects of a century and a half of industrial pollutants into the environment. The average temperature of the earth has risen more since the invention of the automobile than it did over the past thousand years combined. Industrialization also disrupted the natural living patterns of humans. Prior to industrialization, societies were mostly rural agrarian. Work and waking hours were dictated by the rising and setting of the sun. Industrialization encouraged migration to cities in order to be closer to work. Artificial light made it possible to work prior to sunrise and long after the sunset. People became accustomed to spending the majority of their time indoors. As a result of spending more time indoors, society at large developed a more sedentary lifestyle that, over time, has contributed to common health issues such as obesity. Additionally, increased work hours have led to a meteoric rise in mental illness and stress.
