The term technology has been constantly changing significantly over the years. To a layman, technology can be simply referred to as the knowledge of techniques, processes, and the like for the development and use of basic tools that help make things easier or resolve problems.
Technology and innovation will always fail unless it meets people’s needs and wants. It (technology) is basically about helping people. Basically, technology development is not driven to maximize all of society’s goals but the pace of technology and the amount of data generated is changing at rates that are impossible to fathom.
Throughout modern history, technological developments have been enthusiastically welcomed because of their potential for meeting our basic needs and liberating us from hunger, disease, and poverty. Technology really has been at the forefront of material progress and human fulfillment.
Higher and Improved Living Standards. New drugs, better medical attention, and improved sanitation and nutrition have more than doubled the average life span in industrial nations (with third war world countries too catching up on this trend) within the past century.
Automated machines have released us from much of the backbreaking labor that in previous ages absorbed most of the people’s time and energy. Material progress represents freedom from the tyranny of nature. The age-old dream of a life free from famine and disease is beginning to be realized through technology.
The standard of living of low-class families in industrial societies is beginning to double in a generation, even though relative incomes have changed little. Many people in developing nations now look at technology as the main source of hope for an improved standard of life. Productivity and economic growth, it is said, benefit everyone in the long run.
Opportunity to Make Choices. Individual choice has a wider and better scope today than ever before because technology has produced new options that were not previously available and a wider range of products and services.
Social and geographical mobility allows a greater choice of jobs and locations. In an urban industrial society, for instance, a person’s options are not as limited by parental or community expectations as they were in a small society.
The dynamism of technology can liberate people from static and confining traditions and cultures to assume responsibility for their own lives. Birth control techniques, for example, allow a couple to choose the size and timing of their family. Power over nature gives greater opportunity for the exercise of human freedom.
Improved Communication. The 21st century has brought remarkable technological development. New disruptive products and solutions are appearing in all areas of life, while smartphones, the Internet, and social media have become indispensable in our everyday life. Technology has changed the way we communicate while creating new privacy concerns.
Although nothing compares to in-person interactions, digital technologies like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Reddit, etc on SmartPhones have made it possible to stay connected with friends and family while also staying updated with what is happening worldwide. Gaming devices also allow us to compete with friends and colleagues anytime, anywhere.
Improved Healthcare. The development of some specific software has enabled the World Health Organization [WHO] to classify some illnesses, their causes, and symptoms into a massive database that has more than 14,000 individual codenames. This information allows medical professionals and researchers to track, retrieve, and utilize valuable data to control disease and provide better healthcare.
Preparation for disease outbreak has been easier with the help of technology. Nowadays, people search online for answers when they start to feel sick, this data when collated actually add up to create a larger picture specific to that query. Locations can be established from these online searches and a database can be created that will show the rise and the spread of a specific illness. This is very necessary for preparing for outbreaks predicting for their outlook.
Esteem. Technology has also helped meet our needs to gain a deeper sense of personal worth and self-respect through apps on smartphones that act as personal trainers, advisors, friends, and assistants.
While we have actually come to the realization that in this present age, technology has finally met our basic connectivity needs, there is great hope that in the near future, we’ll have made great strides in conquering poverty and addressing people’s needs for food, water, shelter, and security. As more people create time to focus on social, esteem and self-actualization needs, new innovative products, solutions, and services will be needed to address this growing demand.
