From scarcity to surplus and from limited accessibility to 24-hour availability, most products are at hand in this world of consumerism, if you have the capacity to pay. Due to technological advances in the past few decades, lower cost of production and better market access, we see a wide variety of products and services all around us. Modern-age consumerism has also created new segments of demand. Isn’t it good? Yes, it is, but it has its own problems.
Nowadays, many education apps offer learning experiences to young children starting from primary classes. They target insecure parents more than their children. After seeing their ads on TV, it looks like that without these apps, a child will be left behind in studies. The ads are usually based on the premise that the discredited school system always falls short in imparting quality education. In a traditional set-up, a child will develop imagination by reading a book and gain a sound understanding. Now, as everything is so illustrative and explained at a click, students lose the ability to comprehend things on their own. There is too much material in the form of apps and videos with multiple methodologies of learning and choice is tough to make because there is no “one size fits all solution” when it comes to formative education.
While shopping on e-commerce sites, most of the time, we end up buying stuff we don’t require at all. These sites handle a lot of consumer data which changes hands among various market players and every one of us get targeted using our buying history, search preferences and so on. Though the concept of online shopping is very enabling to consumers in terms of convenience, range and quick delivery, it is definitely making a significant impact on consumer behaviour. Hence as it is said, “be careful about what you wish for” when you are on one of these sites.
In older times, we used to go to our elders and teachers for advice or for any troubleshooting, but now it’s Google. It will tell you everything from science to fiction, history to geography, anatomy to astrology. Basically, it’s a non-emotional interface flooding you with all sorts of data and treats your search as potential data for future use. With increasing screen time, we are failing in our social interactions and emotional development.
The technological interventions have no doubt added a lot of value and prosperity in our lives, but let’s not allow it to adversely change the basic structure of human life.
salman.mba@gmail.com
