Technology has become the most integral part of our existence in the 21st century. In the last 300 years, the scientific progress and industrial revolution have led to tremendous advancements in human lives. It has made our lives easier and more comfortable, no doubt, but it has also led to several evils like diseases and wars. There may be a perpetual debate on whether science and tech is a boon or a curse; however, at the moment, let us focus on the ways it has influenced and modified our lives in an irrevocable manner.
- Virtual Chat
The days of letter-writing and phone calls are long gone. This is the age of emails and social media. Modern generation believes Facebook, SnapChat, and Instant Messaging to be the only option of maintaining contacts. Maybe a Video Call option is adequate enough to get a glimpse of the relatives on holidays but it can never suffice for a family visit. Chatting messages can’t bring out the emotions through typed words as in a phone call. But in today’s world maybe that is the closest a person can get to his distant loved ones. In other words, virtual chatting is nothing but a necessary evil.
- Learning System
This aspect of technology has been found to have little or no negative impact on mankind. The entire global knowledge bank is literally a click away and with the increased internet connectivity in the last decade, education has taken a turn for the better. The learning system has evolved by leaps and bounds with virtual classrooms, personal digital assistants, online tutor systems and self-help educational videos. Maybe we have lost the bonding among peers with fewer study groups existing now, but the personal skill and learning levels have taken a hike. Yay!
- Books and Reading
Forget cramming your study shelves with paperbacks and hardbacks. Digital books are the becoming the norm nowadays. Kindle, developed by Amazon is a staple buy for bibliophiles, who treasure reading above all else. A large variety of options and variable selling prices which are available on the online shopping sites have created a boom in the book business. No need to go down to a bookstore or stand in the queue, when you can easily have your pick in the e-books section. If nothing else, going digital will save the Nature from further deforestation and protect the environment (!?).To know more about such ways, please find here.
- Quality Time
Technology has helped us in increasing our enjoyment and leisure but it has also made us somewhat restless in its digital appeal. Continuous disruption in our daily lives and work has come to become synonymous with social media courtesy of mobile apps. People can hardly work for an hour without checking their Twitter feed or scrolling down their Facebook wall. Quality family time at home or vacation has become a rarity as phone calls or WhatsApp message tones are bound to ring any moment. May be pursuit of the social media has a price after all- killing your precious ‘self -moments’.
- Parenting
In today’s hyperactive lifestyle, parents hardly get to spend time with their children, let alone parenting or teaching. When the previous generation faced this problem, they used to turn to their parents for help. However, time is a luxury today and parents opt for fast-fast-fast solutions over a parental visit. It is more of a DIY (do-it-yourself) approach or don’t do it at all. Great for the parents who wish to see their wards take a step before any other kid, with parents who are clueless as to what to do in a similar situation.
- Time Waste
With the increase of internet usage and better global connection facilities, net surfing has become something of a time pass as opposed to a privilege (or luxury) in the past. Whenever we go online, we spend our precious time on Googling stuff which we have no need for or scroll down social media feeds that have little to do with us, in any aspect. The current generation has become so much addicted to the internet technology that it is very difficult to isolate the two. In spite of what IoT supporters might say, some things should remain old-fashioned and a little less “connected”.
- Everything With A Click
What do you achieve when you get everything with a single mouse click? Lazy. People used to go out and spend the greater portion of the day outside the home. Since there is no need for that anymore (besides office work) the average layman has lost the feeling of fresh air every once in a while- something that can prove very harmful in the long run.
