By  Jarod Kutz

Before you read this article, close the laptop or turn off the phone.  Oh wait, you can’t because then you would not be able to read it. To get around that, you could print it and then read it off the printed paper.  But wait, is that efficient? The answer is no. Technology is the most productive way to complete the simple task of reading an article. Right there, you see the importance of technology and its usefulness it has on our lives.  

Before I begin, I think this is worth mentioning. Social media has become one of the major influencers in the world to people of all ages.  Being a type of interactive technology, social media has set “standards” for many people in regard to many different things. Especially for millennials, social media has taught many that Juuls, the electronic cigarettes are “in,” or that women need to look a certain way to be considered attractive.  These unrealistic standards set by social media users can carry unfavorable connotations. Although these types of things and ideas can end up being negative, social media is not responsible for the derogatory thoughts or ideas. Social media is human controlled. We control what goes online. One should not blame technology for ruining society if he or she feels that way, for technology is a beautiful thing when used correctly.  

If one feels as though technology is ruining the world, then he or she must disagree with the use of televisions, gaming devices, transportation, construction, energy/power, electricity, medical instruments, and any forms of communication.  Technology carries us every day as we live our lives. One of the first things people do when they wake up every morning is look at their phones. If looking at their phones is not the first thing people do in the morning, then they are either watching television or using different technological appliances to start their day. These are typical daily morning routines for the average person and before they even step into a vehicle or use some sort of other transportation, they are already using a great deal of technology.  Another example of society’s reliance on technology appears whenever people ask someone else a question that they want to know. The famous reply back to a question is, “I don’t know, Google it.” This is another example of technology saving the day. It is heavily relied on by everyone, even by those who think it is no good.

Going back to social media, its pertinence is not just used for recreational browsing on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook.  Social media can be the key to any business strategy. Clinton Senkow, a profound writer and consultant, wrote a piece for Forbes magazine in regards to social media in business development.  He wrote, “We are living in a time when the news is often reported first on Twitter as opposed to our local cable news channel. We can interact with anyone around the world at basically any time through a number of messaging and social networking apps … .”

Senkow is exactly right bringing up the point that businesses need to embrace the use of social media to capture the attention of a wide variety of audiences. Businesses will find out that sometimes more people see news on social media faster than any other way.  As mentioned, social media can cause people to think and act certain ways. Using social media techniques to influence the behavior and thoughts of customers and targeted audiences can pay dividends in a company’s success. After all, isn’t the goal of every business to get their customers to think and act in certain ways? Doesn’t social media do just that? 

There is no getting around the fact that the world is advancing technologically, and the best is yet to come. With the use of technology, the possibilities are endless. For us to see all of the great benefits, technology and the media needs to be used the right way.  There is no denying how pivotal technology can be. Technology has multiple uses, and when used correctly, it can give anyone every possible opportunity to succeed in all aspects of living.