We must change with the changing times
History tells us that whenever we enter a new century, lots of things change. If the 19th century is called a century of agricultural revolution, the 20th century may be called the century of industrial revolution. We entered the 21st century about 10 years ago and this century can be called the century of knowledge revolution. The fast changes in technology that are forthcoming over the years, have fully changed the way the world works. More and more, we are entering the age of paper less working and virtual offices. Most of the work is done electronically on the computer and today it is unimaginable to work without the help of the computer. Sometime we even wonder how we could work in the past without a computer to assist. Technological advance has made it possible now to work with handheld devices without even requiring being at your desk. Communication has become very fast and almost instant. These are tools which we must welcome as these not only add to saving of precious time, but also assist in initiating swifter action and corresponding results. Electronic communication has also greatly contributed to conservation of nature – a prime need of the hour – by reducing the use of paper and thereby saving precious wood.
To start with, modern technology was quite expensive and its use was not widespread. With time and more and more development of science and technology, it has become affordable and available for use very widely. When the cell phone was first introduced in India in the mid nineties, the hand set was very expensive and the talk time charges prohibitive and could be used only by the very affluent. During the last few years, the talk time charges have become negligible and the price of handsets drastically reduced and today the tele density in India has crossed all projections reportedly crossing the 600 million figure and growing every month. Today you hardly find a person without a cell phone.
But, technological advancement and its affordability have given rise to a tendency of misusing and abusing the system. All of us are daily harassed by receiving numerous emails and smses and phone calls which are totally unwarranted and uncalled for. It is very irritating. Some friends have also developed this tendency without realising that this is not proper. At times, you receive the same message many times. Recently, I received same messages from a few friends at least 10 times if not more. We must change this habit and realise that technology is here to assist us and not for its abuse. Moreover, it makes no sense in sending to such people for whom the messages have no relevance or concern.