How Technology Changed Out Lifestyle
It has often been remarked that technology has changed the modern world, yet we are so immersed within this technological culture, that it can be difficult at times to appreciate just how far it has permeated through all aspects of our society. Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft once remarked “Information technology and business are becoming inextricably interwoven. I don’t think anybody can talk meaningfully about one without talking about the other.”
In this article, we’ll examine just how technology has changed not just how we work, but how we play, how we communicate, learn and live. We’ll look at how technology has not just changed our habits, but permeated through into our actual lifestyle and our homes.
A historical view: The two great technological ages
If we are to provide a balanced view of technology and its impact on our lifestyle then we need to recognise that technology that is now drastically outdated or even obsolete, was once cutting edge. There was a period of many hundreds of years, when mankind led a pastoral and highly physical existence. Survival of the fittest was the order of the day, for all but the fortunate wealthy few, and hard gruelling labour, often from a young age, was commonplace. The only technology we could muster was with the natural resources we should shape and bend into useful tools that people would use to help them carry out tasks more efficiently.
It is incredible to think, that given the immense strides in technology made over the past 150 years, that this way of life had been the norm for thousands of years, indeed since the first tentative civilisations were founded.
Two era’s of great technical innovation changed that and the first was the Industrial Revolution.
a) The Industrial Revolution and beyond
The industrial revolution signified a huge turning point in the history of humanity as it was the first time that we really began to tap into the huge potential of technology. Automation was the order of the day and developments like the steam engine, petrol engine radically altered how we worked. The industrial revolution impinged upon every aspect of society, from transport to clothing, to how we built our homes, to the items we placed inside them.
It is tempting to think that the industrial revolution was an event that occurred in the mid to late 19th century, but in truth its effects stretched well over a hundred years into the future. Building on these initial technological advances, humanity began to adapt to new forms of technology. Soon homes contained gas and electricity, cookers and refrigerators, vacuum cleaners and televisions and in itself that altered the way our homes looked.
This was further emphasised when after the initial novelty of these items wore off and they were mass produced, it was not just the function of an item that mattered, but also the look. Aesthetics and design became a focal point for many home buyers,allowing us to embellish our home in any style we liked, from choosing paint, wall and floor coverings, to deciding which type of television or refrigerator you preferred.
Throughout the 20th Century, these technologies had a profound effect upon our lifestyle. Humanity had never enjoyed the freedom’s that they now experienced; you could change your styling in a room at the drop of a hat and relatively inexpensively. Electrical items were being refined and improved, as were cars and other vehicles and the first microcomputers began to appear on the shelves designed for the home market.
Little did we know that these cutting edge machines would herald the dawn of the second great technological age, the digital age.
b) The dawn of the digital age
At first, computers were the toys of the vastly wealthy, or large businesses, but the advent of the personal computer changed that. Computers quickly caught on and soon they were installed in most homes. At first, they were little more than games consoles or word processors, but over time their use diversified and they grew more powerful.
The real turning point for the computer industry came with the advent of the Internet, this ushered in the new digital age as for the first time, the world was connected by a digital network and soon, humanity realised the different ways that the Internet could serve us.
Soon, computers were for more than just the occasional letter of playing a game, now people could organise their work, sort their shopping, keep in contact with friends, apply for jobs, socialise, read and much much more.
When mobile internet technology came about, this altered our lifestyle once again. Now it was not necessary to be at your computer to access the Internet; you could keep up with all your social media via your phone.
The effect this has had on our lifestyle has been marked. We can now order items online from any shop in the country, we can fill our homes with trinkets and antiques from shops across the globe, we can buy wallpaper from Australia, carpet from Persia and pay for it all without ever seeing the money physically.
We can now order bespoke interior design items direct from the designer, select the exact colour of paint we want and have it mixed for us, you can even use your own artwork or photography and mount it to adorn your wall. New technology has ushered in a new era for lifestyle too; we are now more flexible than ever to be able to adapt our tastes and ensure we can give our home the look we want.
Indeed, technology is not just altering our lifestyle, but every facet of our life. There is not one aspect of our world, apart from perhaps spirituality, that its tendrils have not gained a firm grasp and as famed theoretical physicist Niels Bohr pointed out “Technology has advanced more in the last thirty years than in the previous two thousand. The exponential increase in advancement will only continue.”
