All around us, with the advent of technology the information is easily available to us, but how we are able to use the same is what we will discuss in this chapter and try to assess the pros and cons of the topic.

With the advent of technology the information available to us has been great and very extensive but is the information really used in deriving knowledge and put into good use.

We will discuss here the effect of technology on our lives and whether the information being made available to us through the various technology sources is actually being useful to us or is being wasted.

Efficiency

We have at our disposal technology sources like the Internet, etc which provides us with information, ideas, and opinions. With such an amount of information available to us it can help us to increase the productivity and the efficiency.

With so many ideas being floated on the Internet, we can come up with many ideas. As we know “creativity” is the synthesis of two great ideas not having been combined till now. So, with the help of Internet we can get our creative juices flowing and come up with great ideas.

Be it a presentation at work or a cooking recipe to be used at home for a party, information is available to us easily. The only thing we need is to be technology savvy and computer literate.

Management

Technology provides us with tools which can help us manage our lifestyles and help us in time management, making decisions etc. Technology use allows making quick and effective decisions. Technology is used as a tool for defining goals, making design decisions, and evaluating their progress.

Nowadays we have some many softwares available in the market which can act as an analyzer, MIS (Management information system), organizers etc. We have Business intelligence tools that are designed to make such executive decisions.

Be it managing our meetings, reminders for friend’s birthdays or our wedding anniversary, technology tools are available to make our lives easier and as a memory aid and a permanent personal assistant.

Communication

It also allows us to share our ideas through blogs etc and communicate with our friends, colleagues etc. Nowadays, blogs are the latest source where we can express our thoughts and opinions, and which can be really helpful in certain cases like when people want to help each other in events like natural disasters etc.

We come to know about information like workshops, seminars, new courses, job opportunities etc from the blogs, or other means of communication. We also have the mass media communication that is literally omnipresent and can provide us with information on each and every topic at every point of the day/night.

Marketing

With the help of technology sources like Internet, mobile phones etc various companies are getting their products promoted at a much cheaper rate than would have been possible from the normal advertising channels.

For example, instead of putting up hoardings and making cold calls, advertisers are coming up with innovative marketing ideas like, advertising in blogs, web pages, sending short messages through the mobile phones which are relatively cheaper and in some cases absolutely free.

We can also get many ideas on the Internet about the promotion and advertising of the products. We can do online surveys of the product and gain pre launch knowledge about the market position of the product as to whether its better placed or not.

Wrong Interpretations

On the other side, even with so much information at our disposal, we are unable to use the information to the fullest extent. As is said “little knowledge is dangerous”, so is the situation prevalent nowadays. Some people gain information through the net and share the wrong ideas, and destructive thoughts.

Internet is nowadays being used to download immoral content and pictures etc. Even mass media communication sources are not having clean and family oriented programmes.

It’s the children who are mainly affected by such content and even though nowadays we have various tools to block such websites and contents, it’s not ethical on the part of the publishers to show such harmful content to society.

Incorrect Usage

The proliferation of data is also a serious challenge of converting it into knowledge and wisdom. Regardless of the technology we are using for information derivation, we should never use them as a substitute for our own basic skills of awareness, reasoning, judgment etc.

We should understand that even with artificial intelligence and other such technologies, it is just not possible to substitute the intelligence, reasoning of the human mind or the emotions and sentiments of our hearts.

Even though we have achieved so much in the technology space, we should not forget that it’s ultimately for our own comfort and usage and not to let it pressurize us or overwhelm us. It is we who program their logic and not let them overtake us as we have seen in science – fiction thrillers like “Terminator 3 – Rise of the Machines”!