The Role of Technology in our lives

One side effect of working from home is that we have all become slaves to technology. We have had to come out of our comfort zones and become more open to learning how to use technology. Some of us may feel the pressure of adapting to various types new technology. After all, not everyone is technology savvy. Not everyone has the same skill, ability, interest or time to learn it. Some lucky ones may have a strong support system at home who could help them understand technology. In a nutshell, we all use technology but only to the level we can understand or interpret it. And if there are any new technological advances, we again fall behind the curve not knowing how to proceed.

If we were to take a step back and analyse this, we would realize that humankind has only developed technology to make life better and not to complicate life further. All advancements in medicine, science, robotics, aeronautics, engineering, etc. all aim at making life better or easier in some fashion. Earlier, when there was not much technology intervention, there was not much choice and everyone had a simple way of life. But now, with the vacuum cleaner, washing machine, television, smartphone, laptop, etc., we have become slaves of these products. We find it difficult to even imagine life without it. We have replaced the house help with just a few watts of electricity and a large sum of money.

If we look at the toy industry, one would be amazed to know that maximum sales that any toy shop has are those that are based on some sort of electronics. As a kid, I probably had just had one doll that would work on batteries. But now I see that most of the toys my son has — be it gifted or bought by us as parents work on batteries. Be it racing cars, educational kits and even some soft toys. In fact, one effect of all this is that my son is far more technologically advanced than me.

Even our education system has undergone a change based on development in technology. While I was in school, our teachers taught us through a black board. A few teachers would try to make a boring subject interesting using small videos. But today, the entire process of teaching revolves around using interactive boards, videos and clippings, using presentation tools to make classroom presentations and the use of Google Meet or other such tools to interact with the class. On a lighter note, we are all getting our kids ready to face the corporate world by equipping them with the knowledge of PowerPoint.

The restaurant industry too has undergone a sea-change from the usage of pen and paper for reservations to using smart tablet applications to not only help you book your table in advance but also take a feedback from their customers. They use applications to even keep a tab on the storage and grocery of their large kitchen. So, clearly technology is helping them keep tab on their various resources. And hotels are not far behind. You can not only open the door via a mobile app but also a voice assisted device to place orders for room service.

Medical professionals and hospitals are using technology to gather the patient information. Doctors use the best available equipment to provide the quality medical care and to provide the exact diagnosis and right treatment.

Being techno savvy and constantly learning is the key to our growth  in whatever field we are. It would help ease our work, reduce dependency, improve productivity, focus on the right things and help manage time efficiently. Using technology to our benefit will not only help us adapt to change but also help us have more time for good things. And for me, that is to spend more time with my family.