Ask someone what they think social media has done for society, and you will likely hear a series of complaints about how it is the driving force behind the most divisive period in human history. While their perspective is interesting, it is also wrong. Today, we thought we would take a look at how some of today’s most controversial technologies are working to improve society.
Social Media
If there is one hot-button issue surrounding technology, it would be about social media. Once viewed as the next great technology that will connect all humankind, it is now largely looked upon as big tech that is trying to mine your profile for data, intercept your communications, and even fuel insurrections. All of this is true, by the way; but for every negative situation social media has put society in, it has delivered dozens of positive ones. Not only has it connected people in ways that weren’t possible before, it also expands the ability for people to learn, to work, and to involve themselves in society. In fact, social media has done more to civilize the world than it does to rip it apart.
Businesses of all types have been able to grow their organizations through the engagement made possible through social media. News and current events are delivered within seconds of an event. Millions of opinions are shared, conversations are had, and resolutions are found faster than ever possible. Social media has been behind the rise and fall of world leaders, the push to combat climate change, and many more political and social issues.
In the future, social media will expand, with more and more people utilizing services offered by SM companies. Educational opportunities will continue to increase. Social media will continue to be some of the most important marketing platforms available to businesses. Social media will likely become mobile commercial hubs that provide opportunities for businesses to expand further by using free services that can be accessed anywhere at any time.
Sure, social media has its cons, but the pros outweigh them by a wide margin.
Infrastructure
For decades technology has been making transportation safer, but humankind is on the precipice of a giant shift in the way that technology is accessed. Not only are we only years away from widespread use of autonomous vehicles, there is technology being developed, led by billions of Internet-connected devices to make our cities and villages more efficient and more effective at sustaining an improved quality of life.
Infrastructure is the backbone of any society, and today's infrastructure is being developed with the Internet of Things. This means that public works, which largely depend on continual maintenance and human assessment, will be built with AI-fueled systems. Public water, traffic, electricity, Internet-delivery, will all be automated to build buildings, streets, and whole cities that are smarter and much more efficient.
A society where human error and corruption is marginalized will only be better for the people who live in it.
Mobile Communication
Communication technology has been evolving for centuries. Today, with a global pandemic forcing our hands, we’ve established new baselines for communication. Not only is a vast majority of communication conducted with the use of mobile devices (a notion that seemed unlikely only three short decades ago), but today with the use of video conferencing technology, we can be about anywhere in the civilized world and see who we’re talking to regardless of their position to us. The technology we use today is right out of 2001: A Space Odyssey.
It doesn’t end there. Today’s businesses use this technology to move faster, do more, and extend their authority past the confines of their brick and mortar office. Each year, new companies and old innovate on the powerful communications technology that is available to them. Today, companies don’t need a relationship with a telephone company, they can utilize Internet-based VoIP technology.
As communications continue to improve, society will continue to get more civilized.
Technology is the foundation of many of today’s strategies. You see it in business, in personal relationships, and in the way that people run their lives. What are your thoughts about technology? Do you think that technology has helped society? Do you think that there will need to be regulation to ensure that the power of technology isn’t corrupted by humans? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.
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