I am thankful for technology. Yes it’s true I was able to survive with much less for some portion of my life, but I have to admit technology (both current and emerging) certainly has made life MUCH easier! Unfortunately, it’s a bit of a double-edged sword because technology can also be our downfall. With the good comes the bad. It’s the harsh truth of life. So many stories prop up in the news but sometimes you don’t even have to go that far – you can hear it in the everyday stories of people around you. Accidents due to text messaging while driving, hackers having the potential to cripple our drinking water and other infrastructures…all of these are scary thoughts! Technology has also helped authorities find people stuck in ravines for HOURS!
I have to admit that I have become increasingly dependent on my smartphone. It is my go-to and I would surely be a bit lost without it. Don’t get me wrong, I am not SO dependent that I cannot carry on a conversation with a person face-to-face, but I DO marvel at how all of civilization has gotten by without the world of information at its fingertips. Having the internet available to us with a few clicks or taps of our fingers makes things easier in terms of scheduling a recording on a DVR, looking up train times, and all that jazz. Apps are constantly getting updated or created for our convenience and it seems as if there is an app for EVERYTHING…just wish there was that made dinner for you and cleans up afterwards! Haha. My phone has kept me busy and allowed me to multitask – for example, if I am waiting somewhere (like a doctor’s office, for example), I am able to filter through e-mails, possibly make some calls and all that stuff. It helps me to utilize every minute I have – since time is EXTREMELY precious.
One of the biggest places where I find technology has been critical and necessary for me has to do with my blogs. Until recently, blogs didn’t exist. Now they are so common and you can follow a blog for most anything you can think of – travel, sports, cars, mommy tips, gluten free blogs….the list is endless! Blogs wouldn’t exist without technology. As you probably have surmised, I LIVE on my laptop!
Technology also makes the cars we drive safer. It’s amazing to think of a time without these safety features in our cars. It’s great to know that there’s a push to make some of the features standard – all these features could be quite costly! Backup cameras are becoming increasingly standard and that’s a GREAT thing! One of the great ways technology has helped: I know some people don’t like it because they think it’s like “big brother” watching, but some cars come equipped with a feature that connects them to a center so they can communicate with a representative who can pinpoint where they are based on GPS signals. These reps can also let them know if there are traffic conditions ahead.
Technology can also be found at your favorite local restaurant. I recently went to Chili’s and saw that they had a modified tablet that had games that could be purchased by parents for their kids while waiting for their order to come. This version of a “tablet” could also be used to pay the bill with a credit card – you literally could swipe your card at the table without having to wait for your server…AND it prints up a bill! Great stuff!
Technology has certainly helped the travel world too. What did we do without Expedia or Trivago or Orbitz? How did we possibly manage to find the best deals across many platforms without Priceline? I love that it gives us more flexibility to book things the way we want to…PLUS we’re able to look up all the possible scenarios of what we want to include in our vacation package. All the information is at our fingertips. Travel agents are great, but the internet is flooded with information, it seems almost limitless. If you’re savvy enough and have enough patience to do it, you can even get the best deal out there, provided you know what sites to use, what discount codes to use, when to “shop around”. Technology certainly has made it easier to truly custom tailor a vacation that would fit your tastes as well as your budget.
Technology encompasses so much that one article wouldn’t do it justice. I figured I’d just highlight some of the key points on why I’m thankful for it. I thank goodness especially a few weeks ago when I was in an accident. I was able to call the necessary people, jot notes, find other crucial phone numbers, take pictures….without the sophistication of the phones today some (if not all) of these wouldn’t be possible. I probably would’ve been relegated to just making a few phone calls to the police and my parents and the rest would’ve had to wait. Thank goodness for this modern convenience/luxury/necessity!
How dependent are YOU on technology? Any good apps or programs to share? Would love to hear about it!
XOXOXOXO,
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