In this 21st Century life, many of us have come to completely rely on technology. The advances made in this field over the past ten years have been astonishing. There are very few of us these days who can live without a mobile phone; people are reading Kindles and other devices on public transport, and I’m using the internet right now to write this article. It’s true to say that, without the technology we use daily, we would be a lot further behind many other countries. Imagine a whole day without it.
Last night, there was a power cut in my house. Extreme panic emanated soon after. My family members started making noises that sounded like a mixture of disbelief and heartbreak. Neighbours slowly walked out of their houses, as if they hadn’t seen daylight in decades, and I found myself momentarily confused. What was I going to do? No TV, no computer (and my Ben & Jerry’s was in the freezer!) But luckily I had an idea that filled me with relief. I got my LCD screen fix when I pulled out my iPhone. Phew. What happens when the battery dies?
Fortunately the power cut only lasted for about fifteen minutes. But it scared me how panicked everybody became. What was the big deal? The fantastic thing about humans is that to survive, we adapt to certain conditions. Surely we would have been able to adapt for a power failure? I did appreciate how nice and quiet the house became (aside from everyone’s moaning) and I started to peer at my book collection to get me through the power cut.
In many ways, technology has advanced the human race in leaps and bounds; giving us life saving medicine and giving parents children that they normally wouldn’t have been able to conceive. Technology in the medical world is truly impressive. From IVF treatments to bionic hands, the future really looks positive. According to Go-Globe.com, 80% of the world’s population now owns a mobile phone. There are about 5 billion mobile phones in the world, and 1.08 billion of those are smartphones. 47% of smartphone users are women, and 53% men. Singapore is the top country for smartphone penetration; followed by Canada and Hong Kong. The UK isn’t on the top ten countries list. Even the USA is number six on this list. If you go on public transport in Britain, you’ll find almost everyone on a mobile phone or listening to some music. This is quite understandable; considering public transport these days requires entertainment. However, what is rather depressing is seeing a group of young people in town standing around each other, but all of them texting on mobile phones. They are all together; who are they texting, each other?!