Editorial: You’re going to get left behind

Whilst this post isn’t a piece of Android news or a review, it’s something I felt the need to say. Something I believe is generally known by many in our tight knit community but all too often forgotten, at a time where taking notice of it is crucial.

I have to make this quick. I don’t have much time. I have to write this post. It has to be edited. Feature images have to be made and formatting has to be done. It has to be posted. Then people have to find out about it. We’ll post it on our page on Facebook. Then on our personal Facebook accounts. Time for Twitter. Don’t forget to add hashtags. Retweet on personal twitter. Over to Google+. We’ll post it on the page there, with tags of course, and then probably on our personal Google+ accounts there, for those in our circles to see. We’ll then have to +1, tweet and like the post, before going into standby to reply to comments/messages relating to the post.

This happens for every single post we make here. It happens for most posts made on blogs or websites around the world, every moment of every day. It happens while you’re sleeping and while you’re with family or friends. It happens as you’re in the shower or as you’re making a Tweet yourself. It happens as often as you breath and will continue to do so long after you’re gone.

What I described above is just a brief series of events that has become an all too common part of the technology culture today. There is so much going on. More apps and sites are being developed then ever before. New social networks keep being created along with unique ways to share the things we love. At times I actually find it beautiful. The way technology has been perfectly integrated into our lives is remarkable. We are moving so quickly that no one even knows what will be available in 5 years. I could spend a weekend developing an app that could next year have over 100 million users. It’s not just beautiful; it’s frighteningly beautiful.

People are going to get left behind. Generations will get left behind. We are becoming so damn reliant on the technology we use that soon we will be unable to comprehend a world without it. Our memories have become digital. Our friendships, digital. Our day’s activities are all scheduled in an online calendar we’ll view on our Android phones. We’ll take photos and videos that we’ll then either upload to Facebook or have instantly uploaded to Google+. Maybe we’ll add a filter and instagram it so that someone can add it to their Pinterest. Our friends will tweet at us about those photos, comment on them or possibly share them themselves.

Can you imagine a world without the services we’ve not only grown to love but actually let into our lives? Google knows more about me than anyone else in the world. It’s watched me grow over the past 6+ years since I opened my very first Gmail account as the service entered its beta stage. It’s been there by my side in my most intimate moments. I personally cannot imagine a world without it and for most who believe they can, I dare them to spend a week without any Google service. Services like Google and Facebook have become so integrated into our lives that we can’t even begin to gauge the harm that would be done if either of them went offline for more than 24 hours.

If you don’t know what’s going on you’re going to get left behind. In the next 5 years we’re going to see a huge shift as typically physical companies continue to become digital and those unwilling to conform will be left behind. Credit cards will become extinct as fast as NFC technology is further developed. Google+ hangouts and Skype are reinventing the way people physically interact, eliminating the need for physical interaction. Manufucaturers like LG and Samsung are already implementing ‘smart’ vacuum cleaners that can be controlled from your Android phone along with installing wifi into air conditioning units. In the near future, your oven, stove, microwave, fridge and even kettle will be perfectly integrated with your phone and I have no doubt each appliance will feature a developer API.

Google Now is another perfect example of how fast we’re moving. Gone are the days where we needed to instruct our services on how we’d like to use them. Today, they’re beginning to learn that without our guidance. Tomorrow, our lives will be even further reliant on what they know about us; our likes and dislikes, routines and behaviour.

We’re 21st century people living in a 22nd century world, and if you needed me to tell you that, you’re also going to get left behind.