A huge transformation is evident in startups and tech giants because digital technology is positively changing our lifestyles. Innovations are changing the economic landscape, corporate culture, goods and services, and even the more traditional government sectors such as administration, judiciary, and law enforcement. Also, physically demanding workplaces, like agriculture and construction, are progressively affected by it. These innovations are changing the human resource requirement from physically adept to technically skilled. But, on the other hand, it is inevitably changing us into immobile operators or, in simpler terms, “sitting robots.”
Besides schools, young people experience hundreds of ways to learn and experience new things. With the mainstreaming of digital platforms like educational sites and even YouTube, hundreds and thousands of creators are developing educational content for children and young people to consume. Unfortunately, this can easily negatively impact the learners as no strict regulations exist around such independent creators to provide verified and ethically accurate information. This was evident during the pandemic, where some news channels, organizations, and teachers were educating everyone about COVID-19 precautions and best practices, and other profiles were using similar platforms to spread misinformation.
Despite the challenges, technology is helping our generation to raise their voices on national and global issues and providing an opportunity to contribute to social reformation. This is clearly seen in U-Report, which despite being active for over a decade, still has millions of young people across the globe raising their voices on issues that matter the most to them.
In other areas, starting a business has become more accessible with crowdfunding or seed-funding through the digital market, which will inevitably help our economy grow and provide job opportunities.
But like we all experience, "it's all good until the bill comes," there is a huge risk of all these technological advancements as privacy and data protection in this digital world are still not adequately addressed. Our data and personal information are not safe. Even though measures are being taken to protect one's personal information, it is still easy for someone to capture our data with clever searching or hacking. I hope in the future; we will be able to say that our data is most secure and our personal information is in safe hands.
Credit: Diksha Soni, U-Reporter from India
