Technology continues to evolve and change everyday. Many of the advancements we rely on today are relatively new. The twentieth century created so many advancements in technology it has completely changed how people live their lives. From the industrial revolution and its automation in factories to the creation of the internet and the use of artificial intelligence every new advancement changes people’s view of the world. Technology has changed almost every aspect of our lives. Depending on how these changes are used they can have a positive or negative impact on society. We need to take advantage of the technology we have available to us.

The biggest advancement in technology that has had the biggest impact on our lives is the creation of the internet. Computers and the internet allowed people to connect with each other and gave us access to potentially unlimited amounts of information. We were able to gather any information we needed on almost any topic just by clicking a button. Its creation in the 1980’s only allowed us to access the internet on a large computer that was connected to a phone line. Today we can access the internet wirelessly on almost any hand held device, making this endless amount of information available to us any time. Every advancement made has an impact on our society and how people live.

How The Internet Evolved

Originally the Internet was mainly used to connect people and talk to people all over the world. Because a large stationary computer that had to be connected to a phone line was needed our access to the Internet was limited. While you were using the Internet you needed to remain at one location. Most people, as I did when I was young, would use the Internet to surf chat rooms.

Chat rooms gave people a place to have discussions on almost anything. Most of these chat rooms were anonymous and you would not know who you were talking to on the other end, or where they were from. This connection gave people insight on topics from people they would not have had without connecting to the internet.

The internet continues to evolve into what we see today. We no longer need a phone line to connect to the internet allowing us to use almost anywhere at anytime. We can use the internet on a number of different devices, including phones, tablets, and laptops. The Internet also began to be used for much more than just chat rooms, such as accessing information whenever we needed to.

Being able to access endless amounts of information about any topic changed how people lived their lives. I have heard people say “I know everything, I have google.” Because of the internet this statement is pretty accurate. Researching a topic before making a decision used to be a process, many times deterring people from doing the proper research. Before any decisions are made, whether it is about what company to make a purchase from or what is the best school for your child, people would do the proper research before making these decisions.

The internet evolved into more than just chat rooms and information gathering and research. The Internet has become a tool that almost everyone uses on a daily basis. People can do their banking online, shop, use GPS to drive, almost everything a person needs to do can be done online. Smartphones have become so advanced that they can be used to perform all of these tasks. Smartphones have become the lifelines for almost everyone, becoming dependent on them and feeling lost without them.

Technology Changes Business & Commerce

As the internet and technology continue to evolve the bigger the impact it has on our lives and the way we live. Our lives have become controlled by the internet. We have become a society that relies so much on the internet we wouldn’t know what to do without it. Technology has advanced so much that we now use our cell phones to complete all of our daily tasks. We use them to ask questions about anything we need answers to, connect to people, shop, send money, surf the web, get directions, and anything else we would need on a daily basis. These capabilities have had a big impact on the way people live there lives.

Technology has completely changed commerce and trade in this country. Every aspect of retail, from manufacturing and production to retail and purchasing, is done completely differently thanks to changes in technology. Advancements are made to make our daily lives easier and more convenient. The use of the smart phone and all of its capabilities have made the process of shopping much easier for the consumer.

People today no longer need to leave the house when they go shopping. They are able to purchase almost any item right from their smartphone. Online vendors, such as Amazon, are websites where a wide variety of different products are available to purchase. During Covid-19 when many people had to remain indoors is when online shopping expanded and became much more popular.

Technology advancements changed and expanded Online shopping. People are now able to shop at their local stores and have them delivered. Companies such as DoorDash allow a shopper to order from any local restaurant and have it delivered to them, even fast food. They are essentially cabs companies that will deliver products from local stores.

As online shopping continued to grow many retail stores have either been put out of business or have been forced to downsize. Companies have needed to change how they operate in order to stay relevant and continue to generate revenue. Companies that have store locations have also begun to sell their products both online and at their retail location. Anything can be purchased online and delivered to your house, even groceries. Most items can be purchased online and delivered to you that same day.

This has caused businesses to have to change how they operate. It has become hard for a small private owned business, especially in the retail business, to be able to compete with the larger publicly owned companies, such as Walmart. Many of the larger retail companies have had to change their business plan and how they operate. It has also made it much harder to start a new business in this sector.

The Impact of Social Media

Social Media has probably had the biggest impact on society when it comes to advancements in technology. It was recently a topic of controversy and created a lot of division among people. There are many different platforms that allow people to connect with each other from all over the world. Each platform offers different ways for people to connect. However, it is used for a number of different reasons to different people.

One of the most popular platforms, which was also at the center of the controversy, is Facebook. The concept of Facebook when it began was to give people a place to connect with each other and share special moments with family and friends. It allowed people to search for each other, even connecting people who may have lost touch with one another. Social Media gave people a way to connect with each other in a way that used to not be possible.

Social Media began as a place where once family and friends were connected with each other they were able to share pictures of special events. It also allowed people to share events and experiences with one another. People were able to inform their family and friends about special events to attend, such as birthday parties.

The amount of social media platforms began to expand with each offering different methods of sharing. As more platforms were offered the amount of people who were connected began to grow. People became connected with more than just family and friends and people they knew. Social Media began to be used for much more than family and friends sharing personal experiences.

Social Media and Business

The internet made it much easier for people to research companies and places they did business with. Social Media gave people a platform to share their views and opinions about places they frequented or did business. Because of the internet today most people will look up the reviews on a company before they do business with them. Reviews are the experiences customers had at a particular business.

If you wanted to go to a restaurant you have never been to before being able to read reviews from customers who had would let you know if it was worth going or not. If you wanted to buy a product from a company you have never been to before reviews would let you know how good the company is. Being able to read reviews on businesses and products helped people feel more comfortable with their decisions.

Social Media has also changed how business and companies operate. Reviews were not only about how well a product or service a company offered but the standing of the company. The internet and advancements in technology had made people aware of social and environmental issues. Everything about a company is available online and if a company violated environmental standards or had controversial social views that information would be put on social media for everyone to see.

Before the internet the only way to inform the people about ethical violations of a business was to stand out front of the company with a sign. Today that information is able to pass to millions of people in a matter of minutes. People can call for a boycott of a certain company because of the injustices or unethical actions of that company by using social media. This call for a boycott is able to reach so many people so quickly it has the potential to do a lot of damage to a company.

Businesses are no longer able to cut certain corners they felt they used to be able to get away with. They have to not only make sure they are putting out a good product or service at a good cost but they also have to make sure they are operating in the best interest of their community. If a company has reviews that are negative, no matter what the issue, it is going to hurt that company. They have the potential to lose sales, lost employees, not be able to hire new employees, and a number of other potential impacts negative reviews could have on a company.

Using social media in this way has given a lot more power to the people about how companies operate. A company may be operating within the legal bounds but their actions may be seen as unethical by many people. Because so many people now look at the reviews of a company before they become a customer bad reviews have the potential to put a company out of business. This gives the power of how a company operates back into the hands of the people instead of the government.

Many major companies expect that they will have to pay for violations or lawsuits. These companies factor in payments for fines and lawsuits when they are doing their budget. Illegal dumping of waste was done by a lot of companies because it was cheaper to pay the fine than it was to dispose of the waste properly.

Settling lawsuits companies had against them was done because it was cheaper than going through a trial. Making these payments also allowed a company to resolve the issue quickly before it became major news. Before social media and the internet the only way people would have heard about the violations would of been in the news. These payments were made so that the issue could be resolved quickly before it would reach the news.

Social media and the internet have made it so that the public would be aware when companies were operating this way. It is no longer cheaper for a company to pay a fine or settlement. Companies committing actions like these will cause a company to receive a lot of bad reviews and these reviews will hurt their sales. The cost and quality of a product of a company is not the only factor people look at when deciding whether or not to use their product.

Investors will look at these same factors when deciding whether or not to invest in a company. The most important issue for investors used to profit margin and future sales but this has changed. Investors have to look at the social standing of a company and how they are seen in the community. How the community feels about a company has become one of the biggest factors in determining whether or not a company will succeed.

Social Media and Politics

Because so many people are connected through social media it has now become a popular place for the news and current events. Many people use it as a primary source to hear about what is in the news. Media outlets have begun to use social media as a main platform to give news to the public. It has also became a place where people share their views and opinions about stories in the news. It has also created a lot more division between people.

By using social media as a source for news and current events is has reached a lot more people. This has gotten more people involved with what is going on. With more people involved and sharing their views there are also going to be people who disagree with those views. Social media has become a place to attack people for expressing views that you may not agree with. Many people today are afraid to share their political views because of attacks they may receive.

This country is supposed to be run by the people and the power of vote is where we use our voice to let the government know what we want. It should be a good thing to have more people interested in the issues affecting our country. We should be using social media as a place to share our views and why we have those views. If people disagree they should explain why they disagree. We should use these disagreements to come up with a solution that benefits everyone.

An issue that has added to the division is the claims about what stories are true and which ones aren’t. In recent years the term “fake news” has become a common attack against many stories, especially ones you may not agree with. Even politicians have attacked stories they don’t agree with or put them in a negative view. Making these claims have encouraged people to continue to attack those who don’t agree with them.

Even after politicians win elections their political opponents will continue to attack their policies and views. If a politician wins an election it should mean that the people have spoken and that is what they want. That is no longer how it is. They will still try and convince the people that their opponents are wrong and what they are doing is going to harm this country.

Using social media as source for politics and current events has even caused politicians to call for stories to be taken off the platforms. They will claim the story isn’t true and is harming the country and that the owner of social media platforms needs to screen the content posted and take certain stories off. People have even been kicked off platforms for expressing their views about certain political topics.

Instead of attacking posts on social media they don’t agree with, politicians should be looking at what the people are saying. They should be using the information on there to determine what the people are talking about, issues that affecting the people most, and what they can do to make these issues better. Instead they are trying to convince people that what they believe is best for Americans.

Social media has created the biggest debate about the 1st amendment and the people’s right to exercise freedom of speech. By trying to silence certain stories from being put on social media should tell the people that the government has too much power. They seem to be working for their own self interests and not for what is best for the people.

Conclusion

The advancements in technology, the internet, and social media should be being used for positive impacts. People should be looking at these new technologies and determining how they can best be used to make our society better. We have the tools available to us and we need to use them. The problem we have now is that we let the government dictate how these advancements can be used. We let the limit and control their uses.

We have let the government and politicians put fear into people by claiming that it will be the end of the country if we don’t agree with their policies. Politicians today try and win elections by attacking their opponents instead of telling the people what they are going to do to make our country better. They try and limit peoples voices by attacking them for what they are saying or trying to ban it all together.

Any time the government gets involved with an issue and try to limit its access people should be asking themselves why. We should be asking ourselves why political opponents are trying so hard to attack their opponents. Why are they trying so hard to convince the American people that their opponents politics will be the end of this country.

What bothers me the most about the advancements we have in technology is that we are not using them to their full potential. The people should be using them to come together and let people in power know what they want and what they think is best for this country. Politicians have used this same technology to convince the people that we need more government control and that they know what is best for this country more than the people do.