Technology has changed our lives irrevocably over the past couple of decades. It has transformed the way we do almost everything – and is only set to continue to do so. Even looking back to the 90s, the internet wasn’t really a thing, supermarket tills were manned by humans and you could only buy paper tickets for the tube. Some of the changes that we have seen have been small, others monumental.
With the insurgency of AI and job changes, many people are a bit anit-tech at the moment, wondering just where developments will end and where it will leave us. Yet it’s important to remember all the good it has done. In this article we take a look at some of the ways that technology has changed the way we live our lives for the better.
It enables us to communicate with others easier
Technology has made the world around us feel smaller. We can be connected with someone that lives a fifteen hour flight away in less than ten seconds, face timing or video calling them to not only speak to them but see them too. Just a few years ago if you wanted to speak to somebody who was away you had to send a text or call them and before that you were resigned to sending a postcard!
This has made it much easier for parents to leave their children with others as they can keep an eye on them or speak to them whenever they want to, as well as help those whose friends or family members live far away. Plus, as the pandemic showed, it is also much easier to work from home and still be present in the work place. Prior to Covid, many companies had jobs that they didn’t think they could be done remotely, yet technology enabled them to be done from anywhere, just as well as they could in the office.
You can even work with companies who are Tracing agents if there is someone you need to track down and can’t get hold of and they can help you. If you’ve lost a family member or loved one and need to check in on them, if you are in the process of taking legal action against someone and need to find them, or something else, they can help. Utilising the technology that is on the market, this job is easier than it would have been ten years ago.
Healthcare has improved greatly
Healthcare is advancing all of the time and technology is impacting this enormously. The equipment that is used for treating people has advanced to be much more precise and is also able to diagnose illnesses and ailments much easier. Medical records used to be paper, which meant it was a nightmare if you went to one Doctors usually, but then got admitted to a hospital somewhere else.
With them all being digital now, it’s easy for any medical professional to pull up your notes and quickly see the best possible solution for you. Wearable devices such as a life alert cost have also made a real difference, with watches or even wearable rings being able to tell you vital stats such as your heart rate and blood pressure, reminding you when you need to get up and do some exercise and much more. This helps people to keep fitter and live a healthier lifestyle than they might have done otherwise.
Transportation is so much easier
Go back a decade ago and if you were to go on public transport there was a lot of faffing around with paper tickets. You would have to get to the station super early, queue up to buy your ticket and then make sure you didn’t lose it or get it wet throughout the day. Nowadays, you can buy e-tickets for many modes of transport, from buses and trains to planes ahead of time.
You will have a barcode that you can scan and it will give you travel on the intended means without any trouble. If you live in London you can just tap your own bank card and can get on and off the trains, tubes and buses seamlessly, with a capped price totalled at the end of your journey. This makes it cheaper as well as more convenient!
Entertainment is a lot more accessible to all
When you are looking for a film to watch, you used to have to head to your local Blockbuster or Netflix store, browsing the videos and choosing one to borrow and return once the weekend was up. This was difficult for some to obtain films if they lived far from a store and didn’t have transport means, or just wanted to watch a film at the last minute. Fast forward to now and it’s easier than ever to get any sort of entertainment right at your fingertips. You can sign up for an account with Netflix, Amazon Prime, Now TV or Hulu to name a few. These will then contain almost any film or TV show that you might be wanting to watch, and providing you do an internet speed test to get a decent internet connection, doing so is effortless.
You can also log into a myriad of streaming devices to listen to the best music you enjoy, from Spotify to Apple Music or YouTube, whatever you want you can find in a matter of seconds. If you are someone that likes to go to concerts but can’t always afford it or make every date, you can watch many online. A lot of artists nowadays make documentaries of their concerts and tours or you can watch clips online. Entertainment of all genres is a lot more easy to get to.
It’s easier for small talent to get seen and heard
Back in the day, if you were an aspiring writer, artist, singer or actor, it was nearly impossible to get noticed. You had to know the right people and get in with the right crowd, making your talent seen. This was extremely difficult and the number of celebrities or those that were well-known for their craft was a lot smaller. With the emergence of sites such as YouTube and Social Media, you now can get your ideas and talent seen by anyone around the globe – without having to shell out tens of thousands for the big players in the industry to do the work for you.
You don’t even necessarily need to be signed to a record label anymore to become famous, you can have a video that goes viral or see your song get thousands or even millions of streams on a music service. Keep in mind that traditional ways can still help, but you have a much better chance than you would have done just a decade ago to get your craft seen by potential customers and also to make money from it. This is a fantastic technology development!
It has created a myriad of jobs
If you look back ten years ago, a lot of the jobs that we have now wouldn’t have existed. Some of the most notable careers include being a Cybersecurity analyst, responsible for protecting digital assets online. As cyber threats rapidly increase, this is a role that is going to be needed more and more. A UX or UI designer was another role that was not around in the nineties or early noughties.
The way that we use websites, applications and other digital platforms is completely different and has developed rapidly. Having the best user experience and ensuring they stay on the website is one of the most important things for most companies to ensure they execute and UX/UI developers can make this happen. Other roles include blockchain developers, those working in cryptocurrency, anyone working in AI for online, data scientists and more.
It means we can remember loved ones
Before technology grew so sophisticated, if we lost a loved one the only way we could remember them as with a photograph or old letters and documents. If these were to go missing or get damaged such as with damp, in a fire or with age, there was no way to recuperate them. Now, you can back things up on your device as well as have many photos and videos that can last a lifetime and you can look back on whenever you are feeling sad or miss them.
The evolution of internet service providers
Over time, the landscape of internet service providers (ISPs) has seen dramatic transformation. Early internet connections were limited to slow speeds with unreliable connections that required high fees to connect. Today, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have become a critical component of everyday life, providing access to high-speed and dependable connectivity in the digital universe. Not only are ISPs gateways to an abundance of information, but they are also helping facilitate telecommuting opportunities, online education programs, and digital entertainment services. Modern ISP markets are highly competitive, pushing consumers’ expectations when it comes to speed, service quality and customer support. This phenomenon reflects how increasingly essential digital connectivity has become in both personal and professional contexts. Internet providers near me must also meet users’ ever-evolving demands through constant improvement and innovation of the services they provide.
Where is technology expected to go in the future?
- AI is expected to get increasingly popular
- The world of Virtual Reality is going to increase
- Blockchain applications will be more commonplace
- Sustainable technology solutions will take the forefront
These are just a few ways that technology has changed our lives for the better and is expected to continue to do so for years to come. The way we go about our daily lives is something that has been impacted monumentally and we couldn’t go back to how it used to be without noticing a huge difference in the ease we do things! What are some ways you can things of that tech has changed our lives for the better? Let us know in the comments below.
