Everyday with the morning cup of coffee in one hand, I put on the computer to check mail, catch the latest news, especially what’s happening back home in India. This makes me feel connected. Later in the day I listen to some Indian music which I grew up listening to, end up chatting with my friends and folks back home. Come to think of it, had the internet not been there, I think I would have missed home much much more. Sometimes, I wonder what the future of the internet would look like. Can it get any better than this? Sure, say some people. This is just the tip of the ice-berg, the beginning. Is it going to be “the beginning of the end – of the beginning ?” ……hmmm, good question.
We had just begun to get a grasp of computers and all that it can do, when, bang – came networking, ARPANET and before we knew it Internet had arrived. We all welcomed this new medium with open arms….what could be better, everybody could have an email account, chatting was a fad. Like everybody else, I too, took to this new toy. This was during my college days and before I knew it I was also researching stuff on the net. I realized that the Internet gave me answers to questions that maybe had gone beyond the scope of my parents. So it was wonderful. I made the first PC-to-soft phone call to my cousin in the States, little knowing that it was illegal. The internet went on expanding, search engines became more and more powerful. We moved on from dial-up connections to broadband. Along with it came the other wonders, that of video conferencing. I still vividly remember the day, in a neighborhood cyber café, an old couple sat at the computer, watching amazed at the computer screen. On the screen was their 6 month old grandson, apparently in the US, their daughter was feeding him. I saw technology at its best…I also saw the tears moisten their eyes, tears of happiness and also tears which wished that they were there…
Going ahead the mobile devices got more and more sophisticated. I hear that there will soon be a time when our personal mobile devices will control and manage most Internet-enabled appliances like kitchen and entertainment equipments. Already there is talk that everything, including coffee pots, home lighting, alarm systems, autos and heart pacemakers, to have a secure IP address and be controlled by the owner. That sounds really good. The day is not far away when there will be a technology that will know when I use up the last bag of corn, add it to my e-shopping list, and transmit it to the grocery store for me the next time I go shopping or if I want to get home delivery. Will this strip us of the pleasure of making our own shopping list and indulging ourselves in things that we really don’t need but would still go ahead and buy if we went shopping ourselves? Online shopping has gone to great heights. It’s great when you are looking for something and not getting it in the local market, you can search globally. Who knows, you may not only find it but also get a cheaper deal. But the flip side is, it cannot and will never replace the same pleasure I get when I go shopping, trying out clothes and accessories of all sorts, indulging myself and even overspending when I find something that I really like.
There is amazing growth in both the music and movie industry with online access to entertainment. There is already a new revolution that has hit the news and publishing industry. E-books available online makes reading so much simpler and affordable, but then again does it?... Can it replace the sheer pleasure one gets, when one curls up on the couch with a book in the hand, on a lazy Saturday afternoon?
Blogs and podcasts are the beginning of this online movement, and they are here to stay. Marketing strategies and journals are being rewritten evryday. Companies are being forced to reckon with the fact that the consumer is getting more powerful and its now easier for them to voice their concerns about a product that they don’t like, just by posting a blog about it and ruining the reputation of the company. The boundaries between work and leisure are diminishing by the day. Maybe the best example is the BlackBerry e-mail/phone/Web device. On the upside, it allows you to get e-mail everywhere you go. On the downside, it allows you to get e-mail everywhere you go!!
Banks went online with their transactions. I don’t suppose the day is far when every bank will simply have one signature branch in every city, while all their transactions will happen online over the net. But I also hear that there is an increase in the number of cyber crimes, hacking on bank sites, phishing and spyware lurking around. Cyber attacks seem imperative in the near future. The online world allows governments all over the world to keep a better tab on people. In the post 9/11 era this would seem justified, but then again some would argue about erosion of our privacy.
I also look at this huge online community that has evolved. You can make friends with people all over the world, get to know them, their culture. With online web directories its not so difficult to keep in touch with your kindergarten friends or if you are traveling, to keep in touch with your family. But again, can it replace the feeling of being there physically? Can the human touch be substituted?
I argued with my husband this morning about a world evolving, which will have people, he insisted on calling “homo-podians”. According to him, this new evolved species will have shorter legs, different looking arms, palms that would fit the mouse perfectly (even suggested that it might get attached), ears might be formed with the earphones or some variety thereof!
I refuse to look at our future with such a gruesome and an extremist view. I feel as long as there are human emotions and feelings we can always overcome these techie hurdles and use them to our advantage. We will always want the human touch, the shoulder to cry on, the hug to console us. The trick I think is to not become a slave of technology but use technology to our advantage, to seek out, to broaden our horizon and perspective.
