What Happens Next?

      After learning about the various technological advancements of the past few decades, it becomes a little complicated to even imagine how such technology could improve! We are currently living in a world where we take such technological improvements for granted.  Even though we've covered a few of these advancements in previous blogs, there are many more significant developments to mention:

1. Wearable Technology: Wearables used to be limited to a simple watch that told time.  These have now been upgraded, as devices like the Apple Watch provide users with many of the features they would typically find on their smartphones.  Users are able to send and receive text messages, make phone calls, and even snap photos with their watches! In addition, wearable technology provides users with many health benefits, such as a calorie counter, step tracker, and hear rate monitors.  Consumers have definitely adopted wearable technology: Laricchia (2022) mentions that wearable technology users increased from 325 million to 722 million in the short span of two years!

2. Streaming Television: I remember that when I was in elementary school school, watching television required me to be in front of my screen at a prescheduled time.  This would easily be complicated if I was away from home, or if my parents or siblings wanted to watch something else.  Thankfully, streaming television has come to save the day.  Services such as Netflix, Hulu, Disney Plus and HBO Max allow viewers to subscribe for a monthly fee and watch their favorite shows and movies on demand.  Streaming tv has been beneficial to me, as I can get home from work at 1AM and catch up on the latest episode of This is Us even though it typically airs in the early evening.

3. Remote LIVE Exercise: Technology played a HUGE role in the fitness world during the COVID-19 pandemic.  As a result of lockdowns in major cities, gymgoers were no longer able to visit their favorite exercise locations. Many of them resorted to services such as Peloton.  Peloton's product portfolio includes a stationary bike and treadmill.  In addition, the company has created the Peloton App, a subscriber service that allows consumers to exercise remotely with the assistance of a live trainer.  Leaderboards and rankings allow consumers to compete against each other and feel the "excitement" of being in a live gym environment without leaving the comfort of their homes.  Users who are unable to access live shows can access them at a later date, as they are recorded and archived.  Even though they may not be viewing the exercise program live, users are ranked against others viewing the same exercise program at the same time.  According to Thomas (2020), Peloton accrued over 3.1 million subscribers during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.   

   Technology can be extremely beneficial to our world--IF WE LEARN TO UTILIZE IT IN A MANNER THAT IS POSITIVE.  While I can't even try to predict what the next amazing technological advancement will be, I am sure that it will be something that will revolutionize the way we live!

References:

Laricchia, F. (2022, February 14). Connected wearable devices worldwide. Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/487291/global-connected-wearable-devices/

Thomas, L. (2020, September 15). Peloton thinks it can grow to 100 million subscribers. Here's how. CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/15/peloton-thinks-it-can-grow-to-100-million-subscribers-heres-how.html