It is impossible to stop change and innovation. We, as a human species, are constantly working to improve our everyday lives and those tasks which inhibit our activities. Each generation brings something new to the table that makes it easier to simply live. These types of changes used to seem massive in scope: a horse to a car, or researching in a library to now using the internet, for example.
In recent years, with our main technology being already pretty incredible, improvements instead are coming down to alter little things that bother people day-to-day. And these changes come at us nonstop. Having the internet on a handheld device now seems quaint with augmented and virtual reality hitting the market. Group texting is adorable compared with net meeting sites and web analytic compositors.
And it isn’t just business that is moving faster than ever before. All kinds of mediums are looking for that next big thing. Sports teams are monitoring player sleep patterns to find hints into fatigue and injuries; cosmetics have advanced to match skin tone, color, sensitivity, and any other issue users used to have; edible water balls are being manufactured to reduce or remove the use of plastic bottles that hurt the environment. Everything is continually looking for that next big thing.
Of course, change isn’t always a positive, and technological advancement doesn’t always improve a process without drawbacks. As with anything else, finding the right way to do something can be two steps forward and one step back. Unintended consequences pop up all the time. They need to be dealt with, but a solution isn’t always evident at first glance.
As phone technology has exploded, so too has the use of phones in any and every situation; even while driving. Use of handheld tech while driving is becoming a major issue in the world today. No one leaves on a car trip without their cell phone. The phone within arm’s reach during travel, people are getting into thousands of car accidents because of distracted driving. Roughly nine people per day die in car accidents stemming from a distracted driver. That figure is on top of every other type of automobile accident; the deaths are from distracted driving alone.
It is worrisome that people are so reliant on their technology. The worst science fiction disaster movies build off this simple premise. Becoming completely reliant on technology always leads to the end of the human race and the robots taking over. But in all seriousness, continuous advancements that we don’t adjust to properly, will continue to be an issue. The people making discoveries are outpacing those of us who use the new things at our disposal, similarly to how cheaters are always one step ahead of those respecting the rules. We can’t keep up.
The airline industry is an interesting test case of trying to backtrack on a change that may have gone too far. At the beginning of this century, with terrorist attacks front and center in everyone’s mind, airlines decided that traveling must be different. There must be stricter security and more rules to who and what can come onto a commercial airplane. It is up for debate whether the changes in subsequent years went too far, but either way, airlines are trying to roll things back to make flying a more pleasant experience. There are now ways to cut normal security lines beyond even frequent flying security skips. Some airports are instituting “innovation lanes” to speed up the entire process of passing through security. Will it work, or will more drastic changes be necessary? Only time will tell. At this point, this is just the latest advancement. We know another will be coming before too long. You can’t stop innovation. For better or worse, everything continues to advance.
Article Submitted By Community Writer