Technology is a wonderful thing giving us almost instant access to the world's information. It makes our life easier, and enables us to stay in touch with distant friends and family. But it's not all great. From big stuff like cancer to small stuff like being distracted texting, technology is killing us slowly every day.

Texting while driving or walking is a killer
 People hate talking to people on the phone, so they've taken to texting. The problem with texting? You need to have your eye on your phone to make sure you get the message right. Fine when you're sitting still, a disaster when you're driving. From 2001 to 2007, 16,000 people died from texting while driving. Even out of the car, texting is a disaster. Emergency rooms were seeing over 1,000 visitors who were getting into accidents because they were distracted trying to walk and text.

We sit around using computers at work
 Sitting all day long is terrible for you. It makes you fat and weak, and can actually increase the odds of you dying sooner than later. So, what's that got to do with technology? Well, thanks to technology we're sitting at work more and more using computers to get our jobs done.

Cell phones are probably giving us cancer
 This is one that remains inconclusive and divisive. Researchers haven't found a definitive link between cancer and cellphones, yet there is a body of evidence linking the two. If you have a cellphone constantly glued to your ear, there is at least some reason to be worried about a tumor forming. Just use a headset to play it safe.

Facebook is fueling divorce, which can lead to depression
 Facebook is actually leading to divorce for married couples. Spouses can get jealous when they look at who is friends with who, or if they see flirtatious messages being sent. It drives a wedge in the marriage, which can end in divorce. Divorce can lead to depression, which can lead to suicide.

Craigslist, if you're not careful, can be very deadly
 Craigslist is an amazing service making it much easier for us to sell old crap with minimal hassle, or find a new apartment without a broker. However! If you're not careful with how you approach Craigslist, you could get yourself in hot water. Take a look at Congressman Chris Lee, who used Craigslist to look for hook ups. It ruined his career (and probably his marriage too.) There are also more serious examples of danger from Craigslist like Philip Markoff, the so-called Craigslist killer.

Cellphones on planes can clog up the radio signals
 There's something about being on a plane that when the crew tells you to turn off your phone you can't help but scoff and try to squeeze in reading a few more tweets, or checking email one last time. What's the harm in it? Well, the FCC worries that a plane load of people doing just that can scramble radio signals and cause problems for the plane.

People are losing their sleep thanks to TVs, cellphones, and other screens
 Staring at bright screens before you go to sleep can disrupt your sleep, says a Berkeley sleep specialist. The bright screens of an iPhone, iPad, or even TV, disrupt your body's natural rhythms at night. If you don't get enough sleep, your lifespan can be significantly shorter according to research from the University of Warwick.

Electric cars are dangerous for the blind
 Electric cars and hybrids are silent, and as such, they are a threat for people that rely on hearing cars coming. Hybrid and electric car makers know that silent cars are a threat, and they're considering adding noise makers to the car to alert the outside world.

More efficient farming and shipping is making us fat
 Our instinct as human animals to eat fatty and sugary things — things that give us the most energy to store because throughout most of evolution we did have to go through stints of deprivation. In modern life, we still have the same tastes but we don't need to anymore. Now, thanks to technological innovations in farming and shipping, fatty and sugary things are available everywhere—and super cheap. This is making us fat, and being fat is killing us (and costing us lots of money).

Republished with permission from BusinessInsider.com. Authored by Jay Yarow. Photo via Shutterstock.