6 Ways Tech Makes an Impact to Our Daily Lives
If you’re someone who was born in the 50s, 60s, 70s and even the 80s, chances are, you clearly remember a time that was a lot less tech saturated. Even though digital technology at the time may have been a lot less common than it is today, technology, in general, was very much existent.
According to a feature published by the Medium online, technology existed from the first stone chiseled tools that early humans designed to make their lives easier. Other examples of early technology and technological knowledge include the wheel, metal mixing (alloy making) and the use of lever systems among others. This isn’t where it stops though.
You had mankind making little technological leaps all through the ages, however, the one we’re concerned most with is our entering the digital age. As sources suggest, the digital age was gently ushered in with the invention of a basic punch card system by Herman Hollerith in 1890. Hollerith was the man who would proceed to establish the well-known company IBM and his machine would be what laid the groundwork for the development of the first computer systems.
Early Trajectory and Tech
Following the invention of the punch card machine, the tech world experienced other milestones which included inventions that would help shape the eventual development of modern computers. By the 1990s, computer systems were easily available and had begun becoming a standard feature in most homes around the globe.
Another spike in the abundance of available tech took place at the start of the year 2000 which brings us to the point we’re at today – a point where digital integration and tech are a part of everyday life!
The Impact of Technology in Everyday Life
Technology plays a huge role in everything we do and the funny thing is, many of us don’t even realize it. We figured we’d put together an article to elaborate on the extent of technological integration with regard to modern life. Here are some ways that technology impacts our everyday lives.
Facilitating Communication
Though communication technology has been around pretty much since the first telegraph or telephone, new and innovative methods of digital communication have become a part of our lives in a big way. You’ve got everything from voice messages and video conferences to text and email communication.
We no longer need to worry about factors like distances when getting in touch with people and can continue to communicate with loved ones even when we’re busy, e.g. via text message. In other words, tech makes communicating and staying connected a whole lot easier than it ever was before.
The flipside to this is that sometimes tech can get in the way of real life. We might text instead of talk, we might send out a hundred meaningless messages as opposed to a single meaningful letter, we might get so caught up with digital communication that we might forget to do the same practically.
Though tech does facilitate communication, the same tech can also get in the way!
Facilitating Entertainment
When you’re waiting for the bus, you play a game on your phone. If you’ve got a long weekend on your hands, you might decide to binge watch a series on a TV app, if you’re looking to do something with the whole family, you can play an augmented reality game.
As you can see, another area where tech seriously impacts our life is that of entertainment. Even if you’re doing something outdoorsy, you might probably still use your phones for activities like taking pictures or playing music.
Facilitating Home Life
Whether it is making a task simpler or helping you keep your home and loved ones safe, tech plays a role here too. In the area of home facilitation, you have simple tech like central cooling/heating, automatic door control, and security camera systems.
In the area of complex home tech, you have smart home control systems that allow users to control multiple home functions simultaneously and remotely. According to an article published by Forbes, smart home technology will likely become more and more common as time progresses.
Health and Wellness
Technology has revolutionized health and wellness so extensively that it may be hard for many of us to comprehend. Everything from the testing and diagnosis phase, to patient observation and inevitable treatment, is done using means and methods that heavily rely on the application of tech.
Technology in the medical industry has helped curb incidents of human error, has simplified the treatment and diagnosis of numerous ailments and offered doctors and medical professionals much needed backing.
Even though modern technology is heavily integrated with healthcare today, sources suggest that healthcare is only due to become more digital!
Apart from this, the internet offers people access to information and alternative treatment options that can be sought if conventional healthcare isn’t working out. We can say that technology has had a positive impact on the world of healthcare and medicine.
Educational Support
Technology has impacted the educational sector in two ways that are extremely noticeable. The first is in the area of access. Students now have access to a world of information that would previously take a lot longer to obtain.
The second way that technology has impacted education is in the area of practical resources and tools for learning. Whether it is informative videos, interactive programs or digital assessments, technology plays an integral role in our modern day educational landscape.
Travel and Transportation
Finally, technology is instrumental when it comes to modern day travel and transportation. Literally speaking, technology has driven transportation and travel since the invention of the wheel and more blatantly since the steam engine.
In the digital sense, technology is still key when it comes to transport. You have automated radar systems and flight controls, tech based digital communication and travel as well as transportation apps that can be listed among the many technological advancements that influence transportation.
Without tech, travel would be a whole lot slower and pretty complicated.
What the Future Holds
You would think tech couldn’t be more a part of our daily activities and you might even wonder what else you should be expecting. Well, there’s a lot on the horizon that seems exciting. We’ve got the prospect of virtual and augmented reality being used more extensively for one thing. There’s also the possibility of things we could never have imagined to be anything more than science fiction such as space colonization and deep space travel.
Needless to say, though we don’t know exactly what the future holds, we do think it could be pretty exciting!
In Conclusion
As you can see, technology has filtered into our daily lives on both a micro and macro level. Furthermore, the way things are going, it is most likely that technology will only become more and more integrated into our everyday lives.
What is most important is for us not to ostracize technology as something evil, now to put ourselves in a position where a lack of technology would render us completely helpless. If we can find and maintain the delicate balance between technological dependence and self-survival, we shouldn’t have anything to worry about.
