How Technology Affect Us Today

Gadget-dependent?  To admit is human and to deny is divine. Kiddin’.  But can we blame people from buying all these gadgets—from cellphones, iPads, laptops, high-end DSLR cameras?

And more importantly, are we just wasting money?  And have we forgotten which to prioritize?

Rachel, 21, who just got her first pay check this year shared how she has become techie over the years when her own father has spoiled her with gadgets to make up for lost times. “I am one of the lucky kids, a millennial if you must put a label to it, who doesn’t mind if she breaks her new Apple gadget because her parents can easily buy her a new one or take the unit in an Apple authorised repair centre right away. I don’t want to say that it is all bad. I learned a lot from using different gadgets that I now use at work. Because I know how to use certain features of the Apple products, the company often calls me to troubleshoot their Macintosh computers when no one knows how. In fact there are times that I can work like a skilled technician because I used to talk for long hours with people in this iPhone service center in Singapore. I learned so much from them that I now apply at work. So you see, there are a lot of advantages nowadays when you know a lot about tech stuff. And those things, I never learned them from school. Not even on my major subjects.”

In an article of Rodney Gordon where advantages of technologies and gadgets were laid out in his article aptly titled Four Advantages and Disadvantages of Technologies and Gadgets for the website utahsip.org, the following were written:

1. Higher profit: New technologies can benefit your business in a number of ways. You can get higher profits as new technologies increase work efficiency, which in turn, increases productivity. Moreover, fewer work forces are needed as new technologies can automate the work thus reducing the costs more.

2. Fast access to information: You can get quick access to information with the help of computer and internet, two of the most popular technology and gadget in the present times. The ‘search engines’ on the internet help you find information on any topic that you’re looking for.

3. Increases communication: Gone are those days when you had to write letters in order to communicate with people staying far away. Nowadays, you can send e-mails and you get the reply within minutes. Moreover, you can also take help of ‘chat rooms’ to meet new people as well as to stay in touch with your old friends.

4. Speed up work: There are so many gadgets that help to speed up work. Right from household chores to office work, there are gadgets with the help of which you can increase your work efficiency. It helps you to do quite a number of things in relatively less time.

Danielle So, 32, who, just like Rachel, frequents an iPhone authorised service center, shared how owning several gadgets made him more productive, “I do research online. I do not buy big cameras because my iPhone can take pictures and record videos. I play games there too. I update social media accounts via my phone too. So, while studies keep claiming that gadget dependency is bad, I see how that is not entirely true knowing how the digital age changed the way people do their works.”