This blog post may seem contradictory to our previous one but it actually isn’t. Technology in itself is not inherently evil or good. It is just a tool, though a powerful one. It’s how you use that tool matters! Take the example of a knife. It can be used to cut onions but it can also be used to stab someone! If there are two technologies that have played the most vital role in making our modern World a so-called ‘Global Village’, they are air travel and the Internet.
Internet has transformed our mode of communication. Before email, faxes and post were the only way for distant communication and these modes were not that good and definitely not responsive. Internet revolutionised the communication enabling us to respond in real time from distant corners of Earth. Email, WhatsApp, Facebook, Reddit and Google are now household names. Let us present some examples of where Internet shines brightly and enables us to live such connected and enriched lives that our forefathers would not have been able to even dream of!
Real-time Connectivity
As mentioned earlier, one of the biggest miracles of Internet and World Wide Web is real time connectivity. Emails have changed the way we do business today. Emails are digital equivalent of posts. Posts used to get to recipient in weeks if you are lucky to get them at all as lot of those got lost on their way. Realistically earliest times for post back then used to be months. Emails today however land in your recipient’s inbox within seconds. By providing such responsiveness, it has allowed social media to flourish and also enable real-time sharing of news, global & local events, life events and even better real time photos and video sharing of these events.
Hub of Knowledge & Learning
Just a couple of decades ago, physicals books used to be the only way of learning a skill, art and formal education. Today due to Internet, we have even the most prestigious universities imparting formal education through online classes. Good thing is this is not limited to formal education. In fact there are thousands of websites and apps that can be used to learn any skill, trade and even specialised education. Whether it is knitting you like or want to become a guru of MS Excel or even how to become good at Chess, Internet is your friend. Finally, YouTube is a worthy mention here since if you cannot find training or reference material on learning websites, YouTube almost always has some gems on even the most obscure topics you can think of.
Inclusiveness & Diversity
For unfortunate disabled people, there is no better time to be born. Disability severely affects one’s life but just a few decades ago, disabled person was at the mercy of their family members. Today however and in part due to Internet, most developed countries allow disabled people working from homes that allows them to earn a living and feel respected. Inclusiveness and diversity also got a boost due to advancements of software using the Internet. With real time collaborative software like Microsoft Teams, Skype, Slack just to name a few and most things moving to Cloud, businesses today have access to pool of talented individuals from all over the globe!
Shopping
While shopping may seem trivial and even vanity in some cases but there is no doubt that ubiquity of Internet and its responsiveness has enabled a grandmother baking cakes in her room to sell it to a Worldwide audience! Online shopping has revolutionised the way we shop. This also has the added benefit of providing livelihood to tens of millions of people across the globe.