The Digital Revolution
One of today’s most highly discussed subjects in politics, economics, and industry is the digital revolution. The term “digital revolution” refers to the transition of technology over the last 40 years from analog and mechanical technology to digital technology.
We are in the middle of a significant transformation that has never been seen before in history. The digital revolution permeates every aspect of our business and daily life. It rebuilds our culture, economy, and social values. It changes us. We can evaluate this change that permeates every aspect of our lives in four major phases:
The revolution has been marked by rapid advancements in information technology, with computers becoming quicker, cheaper, more efficient, and smaller. As a result, information technology has become ingrained in almost all goods, and people are quickly adapting to the fast speed at which the information environment is evolving.
According to statista.com, as of January 2021, there were 4.66 billion active internet users worldwide – 59.5% of the global population. 92.6% (4.32 billion) of this number used mobile devices to access the internet. In terms of internet users, China, India, and the United States lead all other nations.
China has over 949 million internet users and India has about 624 million, while the US has approximately 298 million users.
In general, digitization is regarded as a positive power. Estonian governments, for example, are adopting digital technologies to become more effective and accessible to their people.
The positive impacts of the digital technology revolution include the fact that it has enhanced connection among people, creating ease of communication. Websites and applications have all been developed to aid in the socialization of users. Nobody needs to feel alone in the modern world thanks to social media, tweeting, texting, computers, tablets, and cell phones.
Besides, digital technology has also made information to be easily accessible. Data can be stored digitally and in physical locations, allowing it to be accessed from any device with internet access.
Anyone with an internet connection now has access to a large portion of the world’s information. Virtually delivered lessons and courses are now possible. Besides, people are increasingly getting their news online, whether through a website or social media.
There’s no denying that digitalization has driven in a financial change. Online banking is now the standard, whether done on a laptop, mobile, or phone app. Other financial issues, such as buying and selling currency and stocks, can be handled electronically.
Although the digital revolution has brought many benefits to society, it has also raised several concerns.
The negative effects of the digital technology revolution include the fact that people increasingly prefer to socialize and interact through digital devices rather than face-to-face communication.
As another example, since digital media such as images, audio, and video are simple to edit, media manipulation is common. It’s no longer always straightforward to say what’s true and not.
Another disadvantage of the digital revolution is that there is less privacy. Confidential information stored in digital devices can be accessed by companies through the use of different data collection techniques.
Social opposition to technological change is not recent, though it is likely to be more pronounced in places where people’s employment is considered to be at risk. One recent example is the opposition to Uber. Many people believed that computers and automation would lead to less work and more leisure in the 1960s, but that opinion has since changed. Economists are currently debating the degree to which technological innovation would result in job losses.
The disparity between those who have access to information technology and those who do not is very broad, causing the digital transition to be uneven, as some communities appear to fall behind, resulting in a digital divide.
The digital divide is most prevalent in low-income countries, where many people are unaware of new digital technology. As a result, the revolution process cannot be carried out successfully and equally worldwide.
Finally, we can all agree that the digital world has advanced rapidly in recent years. It will undoubtedly present us with exciting developments that far exceed our imagination, continuing to change the world as we know it.
As technology constantly evolves, many questions arise in our minds: would robots be our future partners or enemies? Will researchers be able to create machines with general intelligence, and if so, will this open the door to superintelligent creatures that pose a danger to humanity?
Well, we will discuss these questions in our next article. Until then, we will leave you with this great quote by George Westerman:
“When digital transformation is done right, it’s like a caterpillar turning into a butterfly, but when done wrong, all you have is a really fast caterpillar.”
