Technology affects almost every aspect of 21st century life, from transport efficiency and safety, to access to food and healthcare, socialization and productivity. The power of the internet has enabled global communities to form and ideas and resources to be shared more easily. However, the overuse of some technology has been linked to a decline in mental health, increased social division and privacy concerns.
We take technology for granted every day – even when it’s delivering us the latest news in an instant, making our cappuccino, or connecting us with a loved one halfway across the country (or even the world).
Of all the recent innovations, which are the ones that we truly couldn’t imagine everyday life without? Has the coronavirus pandemic made us even more reliant on tech, or helped us overcome the year’s challenges?
Improved Communication
“Come here Watson, I need to see you.” These were the first words that Alexander Graham Bell uttered over his revolutionary invention back in 1876, and it's fair to say that the trusty telephone has had a good run. Bell originally dreamed that there would be ‘one in every town’. He was right of course – in fact, these days, there’s one in every person’s pocket. However, technology has seen the traditional audio call being edged out in favor of messaging and social media as a way of touching base.
Another medium that has seen a boom in the last few years is video calling. It’s nothing particularly new – the concept has been around for about as long as Bell’s telephone – but the revolution of high speed broadband at affordable prices means that it’s now easy to send and receive the amounts of data needed for a video call.
While video calling has spent the last decade slowly creeping into daily life, it’s the ongoing pandemic that has pushed it over the edge and secured its future as an everyday way to stay in touch.
Thanks to lockdowns and social distancing, families and friends are meeting up and socialising via video call more than ever before. If you hadn’t heard of Zoom last year, you will have certainly become aware of it this year, and while there are plenty of other video conferencing apps out there, it’s Zoom that has emerged the poster child for video chat in the public consciousness. This is backed up by the firm's impressive claim of 300 million ‘daily participants’ earlier in the year, compared to ‘just’ 10 million back in December 2019.
It’s not just social lives that have been transformed by video calls, either. The pandemic has also meant that more of us are working from home than ever, and in-person meetings have been replaced with video conferencing as office staff swap the boardroom for the bedroom (or wherever else they can find space to work at home).
While Zoom is a great tool for catching up with buddies, can it do the job of supporting your business through the pandemic? We’ve evaluated several high profile video conferencing systems, and can help you find the right one for your company in minutes.
We take a look at the seven most important ways that tech has impacted our lives in recent years.
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