“Good, bad or indifferent, if you are not investing in new technology, you are going to be left behind.”
These words were said by a well-known British businessman, Philip Green, and as simple as it may sound, this has now become a universal fact – regardless of what field of work you’re in as a business entity or an entrepreneur, if you’re not making the technological advances and taking all those risks, probably your competitors will take you over and make your survival rather difficult. Gone are the times when we had alternatives to adapting to new technology in almost every aspect of our lives. Gone are the days when hi-tech processes, devices and gadgets were expensive for personal or commercial use. The world we live in today, has transformed in a number of different ways – thanks to the technological boom in the last 50 years or so. Today, you merely need a stable, spectrum high-speed internet cable and you can connect to the world outside in a matter of seconds through your mobile, tablet or laptop! Apart from the ease of being connected, updated and informed at any given time, technology plays an imperative role in everything we do today. Whether tech-savvy or not, we all are part of this technologically-advanced era one way or another.
Technology and its Impact:
Over the past few decades, it is quite evident that technological advancements have drastically influenced our societies in both, negative and positive ways. It is entirely up to us and our ever-increasing needs how we make use of technology to fulfil those needs, without causing too much collateral damage to our society, nature and planet as a whole. The latter half of 20th century is what considered to be the period where major took place. This was the period when we were being introduced to major transformations in all the core sectors – communications, transport, entertainment, education, etc. Digital platforms and touchpoints were being made widely accessible for the general public. Reliability on devices and gadgets for both personal and business use was increasing day by day. Economies of scale was being achieved at an industrial level, mainly because of all the technologically advanced and technically sound machinery that increased productivity with decreased production costs. However, while most of us were occupied experiencing and enjoying the positive sides of hi-tech stuff, all these advancements certainly had adverse effects as well. At an industrial scale, environmental hazards have, time and again, certainly raised numerous questions about waste management, pollution-related hazards and other sorts of toxic, chemical and solid industrial by-products or disposals, that have serious consequences towards human, plant, animals and marine life. If you have access to cable TV, you can watch shows and documentaries that do give a detailed version about all the impacts of technology and how it can be controlled to eliminate the adverse effects on ours and our future generations.
Technology & the 21st Century:
Individually, socially and even globally, we have experienced the marks that are left behind whenever a huge transformation has taken place. As far as technological shift is concerned, we need to be well aware of all the benefits, consequences and opportunity costs that need to be taken into consideration while making decisions at a societal or even at a State level. Yes, majority of sectors have seen rapid growth due to developments and achievements in technology, however, the consequences need to be controlled in order to eradicate the negative elements attached to it. If you have good connectivity via, you can find it over the internet that how moving from exhaustible energy to renewable and inexhaustible sources can be one way of saving our planet from the by-products of technology.
But that is just one perspective towards this dilemma. On the other hand, we also need to ensure there is no stopping in research and development for new and digitally advanced technological goods or services. We need to realize that all stakeholders are benefitting from better technology – be it the raw materials supplier, the factory owner, distributor, the retail shop owner or the end consumer himself. Whatever the drawbacks are of pursuing even better technology or whatever the challenges we have to face – one thing is for sure, human race has never looked back once it has collectively evolved towards a better lifestyle. Why should it be any different for technological growth then?
