What does technology mean to me?

Technology is in almost every aspect of my life, so I guess you could say technology means everything to me. It's hard to imagine not using technology even for a day. I start and end my day more or less in the same way— by checking my phone. I work on assignments on my laptop, and when I get stuck on problems, I search Google. If I need a break, I watch YouTube on my TV. If I want to switch things up, I start drawing on my tablet or bothering my brother to let me use his Xbox. Whether I like it or not, I use technology constantly. On one hand, it allows me to do the things I enjoy. I borrow ebooks from my library without ever leaving my house. I read free comics from the apps I downloaded in the comfort of my bed. I watch movies and TV shows with my friends over Discord. So technology also means convenience for me. On the other hand, I'm acutely aware of how much I rely on technology. My screen time is through the roof, and I spend hours upon hours using my phone. I know how unhealthy it is to spend so much time looking at a screen, yet it is hard to stop. Recently, I've been trying to distance myself from technology and spend less time using it. I set screen timers on my social media but to no avail. Instead, I look for alternatives that don't require me to sit in front of a screen. Like painting in my sketchbook instead of doing a digital drawing with my tablet. Or playing board games with my siblings instead of video games. These alternatives help me take a breather from technology when I feel like my brain will melt from looking at a screen.

Where do you think technology will go in the future?

When I think of the future of technology, my first thought goes to all the possibilities of advancement in the medical field. I've seen articles and videos on how machines help doctors perform surgeries with increased precision and accuracy. In particular, I remember a couple of years ago, there was a video of the da Vinci Surgical System circulating on the internet. Have you seen or heard about the video? Well in the video, surgeons tested the precision of the da Vinci Surgical System by peeling the skin of a grape and then stitching it back together. The surgery was a success, and nowadays it’s used by thousands of patients. I wasn't even aware of robot-assisted surgeries before watching the video, so I was amazed and somewhat baffled by the technology. What do you think about the idea of robots doing surgeries? Is the idea scary or intriguing to you? My prediction is that one day machines will be able to perform all kinds of surgeries on their own without the need for human intervention. This would allow doctors to focus their time and energy on more important matters. It would be quicker, easier, and less invasive for patients too.

I believe that technology will allow us to become more climate-friendly in the future too. Currently, we have cars like Tesla that don't require fossil fuels but run on electricity. Electric vehicle emissions are several times lower than traditional vehicles while being just as safe and fast as conventional cars. They are now somewhat expensive when compared to other car brands like Toyota. But I hope that it will become cheaper for the general public in the future as technology advances. Additionally, I think that public transportation can be improved with technology too. Currently, in New York City, the MTA runs on electricity, yet many opt out of using public transportation for several reasons. Public transportation is often slow, unreliable, and sometimes even dangerous. Faster trains and buses can encourage people to use public transport instead of buying their own cars, which is an enormous contributor to climate change. If we look at Japan, their transportation system is top-notch. Japan's trains are on time, clean, and fast. Part of the reason is that they use bullet trains, which are fast and run entirely on electricity. Would you be open to the idea of using a bullet train? If you currently don't use public transportation, would improvements to public transportation convince you to use them? Or would you stick to using your car regardless of future improvements? I hope cities across the United States will improve their transportation systems either by adding technology such as bullet trains or discovering other clean alternatives.

• Recreating the Web experience: Developing an app that simply recreates a business's website is probably a waste of money. It’s important that the business determine what will provide value to on-the-go users, and that it use responsive design to make its website accessible on multiple devices. Take advantage of mobile-only functionality, like bar-code scanning and location-based recommendations, to enhance the user experience.  
  
  
• Ignoring the rules: Apple has lots of rules, and it's easy for a business to find itself on the wrong side of them. Read the Apple guidelines to ensure the app is viable before investing time and money developing it.
  
  
• Throwing branding out the window: An app should be an extension of the brand, but don't lose site of the brand identity. Maintain visual consistency with the business's other touch points and experiences (mobile, app, Web, print and real world) through the use of color, typography and personality.
  
  
• Overlooking privacy: Apps provide tremendous marketing insight, but don't collect or use personal information, such as locations and contact lists, from mobile devices without both the explicit permission of the user and disclosure of data use.
  
  
• Assuming there's an audience: This one cannot be overstated. As is the key with starting just about any marketing effort, know the target audience and how to measure success. Without a plan, a branded app is likely to be one of the 400,000 “zombie apps” that are never even downloaded from the App Store. Businesses should study their audience and identify the unmet need, and then use their app to solve that problem.

Author: Anita Prova

Chad Brooks is a Chicago-based freelance writer who has nearly 15 years experience in the media business. A graduate of Indiana University, he spent nearly a decade as a staff reporter for the Daily Herald in suburban Chicago, covering a wide array of topics including, local and state government, crime, the legal system and education. Following his years at the newspaper Chad worked in public relations, helping promote small businesses throughout the U.S. Follow him on Twitter.