Not that long ago, it would’ve been unheard of to start a conversation about how prevalent and beneficial technology was. When it was all just starting out, people were enjoying it, but not totally grasping just how much change would happen. Most people figured that the tech was around to stay but didn’t question how or if that technology would get any major updates.
Fast forward to today, and everyone knows that technology changes faster than the breeze can shift. And it’s become easy for people to focus on the negative aspects of technology because when it doesn’t work, or we can’t handle it properly, it’s frustrating.
Everything has a good and bad side, but tech does a lot of good to make a positive difference in the world. As everything continues to progress, the good that’s created from technology will only continue to grow.
1. Advice at your fingertips
Back in the day, if your car broke down on the side of the road, you had to either flag down another driver to ask for help or walk miles to the nearest town, hoping they’d have a mechanic. In a situation like that today, you can easily do a quick internet search to phone a tow company, let a mechanic know that you’re coming, and even check your bank account to see how much you can spend on repairs before you ever get the bill.
One of the best things technology has done has been to provide advice. If you think about it, you’ll probably realize that not a day goes by when you’re not asking the internet for an answer to a question or using it to help you figure out how to solve a problem. Websites and instant, mobile internet have changed how life is experienced for new generations that have grown up with it, so no one has to be lost or confused on their own anymore. Answers are always a quick web search away.
2. Social awareness on the rise
Before the rise of technology, people were limited to knowing only about what was going on in their community. Newspapers allowed individuals to learn about national headlines, but only what they chose to publish. Now, anyone can jump on social media or read any newspaper in the world to learn about what’s going on. You can easily get personal perspectives on political or social situations, so naturally, tech has increased social awareness.
What happens when more people are aware of what’s happening around them? Compassion and understanding are born, which leads to more activity in each community. People begin to talk, converse, and take action. Change takes place through events like marches and voting, but it wouldn’t be happening so often or on so large a scale without technology giving people access to more material they can learn about and providing a platform for people to come together and make changes occur.
3. e-Learning opens doors
In recent modern society, there was a path that every young person had to follow to hopefully launch a successful career and life: finish grade school, go to university, and graduate with a degree. This path was a narrow-minded standard since many people can’t afford to go to university. The internet opened up as a platform for e-learning, which has quickly become a new and popular benefit of technology.
Classes online are cheaper because they don’t require students to pay for housing and meal plans. They can also be customized, so students working full-time jobs don’t have to also try to balance the traditional 5 classes each semester. It can be adjusted down to 1 or 2, depending on how much time they have after work. Opening up education to more people helps future generations get an extra step ahead, which wouldn’t have been possible if e-learning hadn’t been made available.
4. Enhanced communication
Anyone and everyone can benefit when there are better ways to communicate. New technology has opened up communication from its old, limited standpoint of phone calls, letters, and emails. Now, people can use smartphones to video chat with their friends and family no matter where they are in the world. People with disabilities can live better lives because tech helps them communicate, like in the case of Stephen Hawking. Better communication leads to better collaboration, leading to happier lives.
5. Lifestyles can become healthier
There’s no need to go out and read through a ton of books about nutrition anymore. Now, you have access to all the help you could need to reach a healthier lifestyle. Whether you want to lose weight, deal with a food allergy, or learn to cook for yourself so that you can stop eating out every night, technology is there to help.
You can research dieticians and contact them for a quote. Millions of recipes are online that you can access for free. You can even have an online personal trainer guide you through workouts so that you become stronger and fitter. Whatever you want to do, tech is there to get you that healthy lifestyle. It’s also there to take away any excuses holding you back!
The world relies on technology so heavily that when something goes wrong with it, everyone focuses on how bad it can be. But the truth is that even with its problems, modern technology has changed life for the better in so many ways.
A key aspect to finding peace and happiness in life is being able to focus on the positives. The technological revolution will undoubtedly go down as one of the biggest historical events that changed the world — and in many cases, for the better! So many positives have come out of technology that it would be hard to justify throwing it all away and starting from scratch.
So, remember to look on the bright side.
This guest post is written by Kate Harveston, a writer and political activist from Pennsylvania. She blogs about culture and politics, and the various ways that those elements act upon each other. For more of her work, you can follow her on Twitteror subscribe to her blog, Only Slightly Biased.
