Right, this is the last post on the subject of what is shaping our technology driven Society.
We are living in a world that relies on data communications.
It is hard to think of any tool, any instrument, any object in history with which so many developed so close a relationship so quickly as we have with our phones.
The Mobil Phone/Cell phone/I phone what ever you wish to call it has evolved into the Smart Phone. > voice and text services, cameras, alarm clock, and radio, access to the internet> all of which will be on your wrist shortly > Apple Smart Watch.
1 in 4 people check it every 30 minutes, 1 in 5 every 10 minutes.
There are almost as many mobile subscriptions (6.8 billion) as there are people in the world (7.1 billion)
I start this post by saying there is no argument when it comes to positive benefits to Society, that the mobile phone has contributed more to the individual than the Internet or Big Data has done to date.
On the other hand I believe it has also contributed to : The mess we have on our hands, to spreading the inequalities of the world, to fueling terrorist Organisations, to spreading non-thrusts, to making today, now it’s tomorrow, and to leading us to expect more from Technology and Less from Each Other.
The Mobil Phone has become an indispensable feature of technology that is rapidly changing the face of communication not only in the most remote areas of the world but also the family structures of the world.
Returning to an Individual and an overall view:
Mobile phones are helping under served populations access the critical skills and empowering information they need to make informed decisions for themselves and their families, and move toward economic self-sufficiency.
They have done more than all the Aid given to Africa and beyond. In fact they are being used to facilitate and promote economic development and growth.
They reduce search costs and increase information availability, which makes markets function more efficiently.
In terms of the diffusion of ideas and knowledge, mobile phones make available information about market prices and employment.
The people who are growing your food, making your clothes, and assembling your electronic devices are often poor, low-wage workers around the world who don’t have Internet access. The way we are able to connect with them is through mobile,” it provides workers with a voice — individually and collectively — by having an anonymous tool to provide feedback.
But we’re also learning that organizations — large, for-profit corporations and small, nonprofit social enterprises alike — are using mobile technology to operate better and smarter. Organizations are using mobile phones to gather real-time data that help them make informed business decisions and that yield social impacts.
But what effect are they having on Society as a whole.
Smart phones have brought a whole new meaning to the term multitasking.
Smart phones are changing the way that people interact with each other, allowing the users to be in a conversation without showing their personal expressions. As a result, we are beginning to lose the face-to-face contact that was such an important part of our lives in the past. The need to belong.
They provide farmers with information on market prices and weather reports, and they link micro and small entrepreneurs to markets and potential buyers. And, they provide mothers with important information to keep themselves and their children healthy.
Just look at
Taro Works, a mobile enabled tool with a cloud-based back-end. In non-tech lingo, this means field-based workers can gather and submit data through a mobile phone, providing real-time intelligence to their home offices. One organization using Taro Works is Honey Care Africa, a social enterprise that promotes sustainable beekeeping and economic development by providing micro finance, training, and other services to bee farmers.
Vision Spring is another social enterprise that uses Taro Works for better business and social impact. Vision Spring fights poverty by selling affordable eyeglasses to the poor, enabling them to work and learn. Why reading glasses? Studies of the economic impact of reading glasses in India showed a 35% increase in individual productivity and 20 percent increase in individual monthly income.
We knew there is great potential for mobile phones. But how to approach the issue of development using mobile technologies, remains contentious. In conjunction with Big Data, the Internet, their impact on economic development and growth are numerous.
There is no doubting their ability of time-saving capabilities/conveyance or getting assistance in an emergency. Therefore, smart phone is an important device which people cannot leave home without it. A social necessity that we teens and adults, cannot be without, an addiction.
It would make uninteresting reading to list all the possibility of Mobil usages.
There are a few to high light how they are changing our world and could be used to change it further.
Before the appearance of the smart phone; it was impossible to shop online during lunch time without a PC or laptop. However, with the support of smart phones, shopping online in these days is as easy as making a phone call.
Services to transfer money can also help counter human trafficking, crime.
Services/Apps have changed the way healthcare is delivered globally, with the potential to provide individuals with an unprecedented amount of access to health resources.
Mobile phones eliminates the need for clients to spend time traveling to the physical banks, enabling greater access to capital, which facilitates investment and productivity.
Services to conduct Surveys, to Petition government. To impose Western ideals and culture upon other nations, resulting in a “practical elitism, but smart phones also emit radiation which some believe may be harmful to human health.
The growth of the cell phone industry itself, adding more jobs and creating more demand for products and services is another way in which mobile phones have contributed to economic growth.
Recent studies show that radiation from mobile phones are interfering with navigation system of bees and causing them to lose their way back to their hive. As a result of this their colonies are collapsing.
Cell phones have led to social evils such as ‘sexting’, harassment and bullying of teens, in addition to creating less unity with families and friends.
Social interaction does not lead to greater concern for others, and in fact may have the opposite effect of reducing concern for others, leading to decreased pro social behavior. Eroding people’s ability to write sentences that communicate real meaning and inhibit the art of dialogue resulting in a negative impact on people’s interpersonal skills. The next generation (or so) is not going to ever be able to connect with another person, confront someone, or talk to someone face to face.
Trans formative tool for Science, Research, Surveys.
And how much about our lives and work and relationships is left to be completely transformed as a result? is anyone’s guess.
For me all three ( Internet, Big Data, Smart Phones) are all connected to each other.
You will see from previous posts that I advocate that the power of Mobil phones as a lobbing force is untapped. It could be used to force the United nations to pass a people’s resolution to place a 0.05% aid commission on all electronic trading on the world stock exchanges. ( See previous posts.)
We hear more and more communication, but less and less to communicate.
Half human, half machine almost god, this new link in the evolution will continue its exploration beyond the enclosure of time and space. Fortunately there are, not that our smartphones are intelligent.
R. Laing already wrote in 1967: “The machines have become more and more able to communicate with each other as humans.
If we want a world that is more equal, access to information should be universal – it should not be limited to the privileged groups in a society, but available to all of us including the impoverished.
So what will be their future applications. Feel free to add to my list.
iPod Finger, Smart Phone Finger, insurance will become big business.
Suddenly my smartphone vibrates mystique.
“The digital revolution is over, the digital won! Because the more you consume, the more it abounds. The more stores, the more it circulates. The more you distribute, the more it flows.
Cell phones can also be used to deliver important information about health and to