The IoT-Effect
I was 15 years old when I first attended a lecture on the topic “IoT” at school. Since then, the more I wanted to get to know about that, the more it gets developed. All I knew at that time was one of the main outcomes of Iot was Alexa, the virtual assistant designed by Amazon. Fascinated by the functions it could do, all of us wanted to own Alexa at some point of time didn’t we? I was once that girl too. How amazing it is that when I call “Alexa”, it actually turns my lights off, plays my favorite song, tells me a cute joke and what not!?
The prominent feature of Alexa has been its ability to create a “Smart-Home” by integration with our everyday appliances. While some consider this sophisticated way of living a boon, not all are blessed with this option. Iot products are a lot more expensive than a middle-class man can afford. Due to this drawback, only economically high class people had these fancy set up at their home. Okay why are we talking about this again? I guess we’ve a more important debate to decide on.
Let’s read more about our fellow roommate Alexa. Do you think it makes our lives easier or lazier? Obviously it’s a 50–50 or maybe a 60–40. With all the technological advancements we’re coming across, Iot is just another big achievement in the field. 10 years ago, No common man would have known that our life would depend so much on a three letter word I guess.
Most of us have received smart-watches as gifts. Did you know that the technology behind monitoring our heart beat rate, number of steps, measuring our pulse was Iot? Or did you know that you don’t have to worry about leaving your old parents at home because that’s what a healthcare app or monitor can do? Agriculture has turned out to be one of the industries benefitted from Iot. Now can we say that these are actually a way of making our lives easy? It’s a yes! No one would deny with the fact that It has been a major advantage for both professional and personal chores.
The above picture shows the various applications of Iot in daily life. A few crucial application can be GPS tracking which is a matter of safety as well as transportation. In the field of education, Iot as expanded its help through smart boards, interactive tools and also personalized learning platforms.
But then, would you all agree if I say I’ve been talking only about its advantages and not about the limitations? Would you believe if I said as intelligent the iot devices are, they are prone to cyber threats and hacking? As technology improves, hackers take a turn too! As I had mentioned earlier, Iot is not everyone’s cup of tea. Every people regardless of their way of living cannot incorporate the concept of “smart-living”. Since there are compatibility issues, not all devices can be connected with each other. Power requirements of Iot devices are quiet higher which may increase electricity bills along with the initial installation costs.
Given above are the four main disadvantages of Iot and how laziness is an adverse effect of being reliant to the technology. We all must agree that all of us have once wondered what it would be like, to have a life-long assistant which obeys whatever demand we pose. That’s exactly how Iot wants us to be because that’s what the new world is preparing us to face. Do we all actually “feel” the taste after ordering and eating our favorite food to our home rather than visiting the actual hotel near that breezy park? How many of us have actually got the exact size of the dress we ordered through online shopping platforms? Assuming the worst-case scenario, It’s not always a win-win. Do you realize that smart-TVs, addictive social media platforms and games increase our screen time rapidly giving rise to eye problems? How many of you have lost jobs due to Iot? The answer to all these questions put us at a situation realizing how dependent and sedentary our lifestyle has become.
After a good read through this blog, I guess you all got to rethink about buying that new device or crave more about buying one. Honestly, we live our lives and get through everything but I have to mention that Iot is not just a passing cloud and it is a major part of our life — “The Iot- effect”.
