Our lives have been constantly impacted by technology in all aspects. From transport to safety during the traveling, from scrolling down the food app to finally having access to it, from reaching out to friends and loved ones and sharing information virtually, the power of technology and the internet has enabled global communities to stay connected throughout. It has been made possible through internet access. With Xfinity internet plans, you get to have a reliable internet connection, at an affordable rate so you can maneuver through technological devices and their services. Nonetheless, the internet and technology
Some of the ways that technology has impacted our lives will be explored below;
Social Media
Social Media apps and websites like Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram, and others allow an insight into the lives of others in real-time, whether they are friends, influencers, or celebrities that one follows. This can have a detrimental effect on one’s mental health since one research reported about 46% of younger girls have lower self-esteem due to being influenced by what they see on social media.
Moreover, social media has enabled the rise of movements such as #MeToo or #BlackLivesMatter, which goes to show how things can be influenced and altered by the power of social media. The same power can make or break a brand; brands’ relationships with their consumers play a huge role in that. If a consumer is happy with a service or a product, he can post positive feedback on social media that will, in turn, attract prospective buyers for the brand and vice versa.
Privacy concerns
Internet users are spending more of their lives online than ever before. A report from 2019 stated that Americans spend around seven hours a day online and that is sure to have increased ever since the pandemic started. Almost every facet of one’s needs and daily routine can be found online; want to go shopping? There’s Amazon. Need to catch up with friends? You get email service, Snapchat or FaceTime. Bored? Go for Netflix. Need to research? Hit up the Google search engine.
Online technology has everything available for internet users. So much so that it has made them pretty vulnerable. Every move they make is recorded, leaving a digital footprint all over the internet. And that makes it easier for hackers or scammers to exploit that for financial gain. They can use their private information against them.
But on the bright side technology has also given internet users the tools to protect their privacy. For instance, a password manager will protect all your existing passwords, suggest new ones, and make sure your details aren’t compromised. Or there is VPN or Virtual Private Network that will bypass your ISP and disguise your digital footprint. This prevents anyone from ever seeing the content that you are assessing, even when you use public Wi-Fi. Another one is using anti-virus software that helps to provide a shield against all the online trespassers like ransomware or malware, which are designed to extract sums of money from internet users.
Flexible working
The coronavirus pandemic restricted full movement in the country, forcing everyone to shift their work online. At the peak of the coronavirus pandemic, around 42% of Americans were doing their work from home. However, even when the pandemic has slowed down a bit, this trend is still continuing. Large companies like Twitter, Google, or Microsoft have allowed their employees to work from home for an indefinite period of time.
All thanks to modern technology, internet users can easily work from home and communicate with their coworkers, clients, and suppliers, without having to step out of their houses. Work from home has been very life-changing for most Americans; there’s been no commuting, number of flexible hours, less environmental impact, and more. This blend of hardware and a broadband connection has made all of this possible and convenient.
Health Tracking
Fitness devices have been very useful in keeping an individual be aware of his health concerns. Fitness devices can monitor heartbeats and blood pressure, track exercise plans, record the number of steps taken, and even monitor sleeping patterns. In the year 2019, Apple was able to sell 31 million Apple Watches to its consumers, which made it the most popular watch brand in the world. This just goes to show how people think fitness devices technology is essential in their daily lives.
In conclusion, these are some of the ways that technology has impacted our lives. There have been good instances as well as bad, but the main point is that technology isn’t stopping and is constantly growing. The next invention is being worked on in a lab somewhere, so it can improve our lives.