How technology has changed our daily lives

Since the 1980s, when IBM created the computer for personal use and Apple made it more accessible with the famous Macintosh, we have seen that technology has evolved so rapidly that it is difficult for the “ordinary citizen” to be up to date with what’s new every minute.

It is clear that the evolution of technology in all human areas has substantially changed the way of living, and in the vast majority of cases, has brought with it a better quality of life.

1.The “errands” or “turns” are now online

Let’s go to the case of banking or commercial transactions, for example; just imagine (or remember some) that some 30 years ago, to make a modest deposit in a bank, or withdraw some money for the weekend, you had to go to the bank in person! Now it seems absurd not to be able to do all kinds of transactions online, but until a couple of generations ago, the day went around the city, between going to the bank, paying electricity, paying the telephone, credit card, etc. , etc. Even the ATMs that became popular in the 90s seemed like the technological pinnacle and from there “no more could be invented”!

2.Work without leaving home

And speaking of time wasted uselessly, until very recently, in congested cities, an employee could easily spend a couple of hours going and a couple of hours back to work in an office….four hours a day, totally dead…. half time not used. The collaboration tools that currently exist for the workplace allow you to work from where it is most efficient, both for the employee and for the company.

Starting with teleconferences that allowed the connection between offices in different places, to the sophisticated version of telepresence , which can host meetings between various points on the planet with an experience that is almost the same as face-to-face. And on an individual level, why go to an office when there is Skype, GoToWebinar, Gloogle Hangout, Webex and so much other software? The jump in labor productivity has been quantum, really.

3.It is studied where and when the person wants

This is exactly the same with education, especially higher education, when the student is already working and has little time to move to a classroom. The evolution of learning platforms has made the virtual experience as efficient as the face-to-face experience. Games, simulations, chats, video tutorials, interactive experiences of all kinds are new ways of learning, and show that online education is here to stay. The best proof of this is Open English itself , which revolutionized the way of learning English in Latin America with online courses.

Going to another type of study, prestigious face-to-face education institutions, such as Harvard or MIT, have popularized MOOCs, which are massive and open online classes that students take for free from their home or office, and which are recognized academic.

4.Health services move to homes

The health area has also benefited enormously from technological developments, improving medical procedures for the detection of ailments with the MRI, or the CATScan, for surgical interventions, such as organ transplants, or for genetic engineering, with the controversial intervention in the DNA. To enter a less debated area, thanks to technology, in rural areas of Latin America it has been possible to provide access to first-world health treatments with the evolution of telemedicine, or the technology that allows patients who cannot reach clinics located in large cities (because of distance, cost or impossibility of movement) receive the appropriate diagnosis and medical treatment connecting rural areas with world-class health centers.

And not so far from the topic of health, there are the so-called wearables, or technology “to wear or dress”, either in wristbands or in shoe insoles, which allow you to monitor your heart rate, calories consumed, time invested in physical exercise and many other data related to the athlete’s health.

One of the latest advances in this area is the mechanism that controls chronic pain by sending electrical currents to the body’s neurotransmitters, in a device that is almost imperceptible to the human eye.

5. We are interconnected 24 hours a day

The areas of personal communication and entertainment are possibly the ones that offer the greatest visible signs of technological evolution, because they have a direct and immediate impact on lifestyle. From interpersonal relationships between the family itself to contact with people that we would not have met in any other way, either through chatrooms with similar affinities or through “networking”. The online world has changed the way of making friends and even the very concept of friendship. Key word: Facebook. Recently, this company announced that it reached one billion connected users in a single day .

Today the level of attachment to being “connected” is such that families and schools have found it necessary to decree “offline” hours per day, and even create special camps, to preserve interpersonal communication and communication with nature.

And to continue the conversation, take this Personality Quiz to see how much you like these changes that technology has brought to our lives.