In a world fast evolving to become solely dependent on the virtual world, the future is now. Technology is innovating at geometric proportions, each year we have a version of our lives, better and with a faster interface than before. When the future is here [or so claim most internet and cloud computing based companies], what is it that the future holds?
When we look at the short history of mobile phones, it has established itself more in a decade, than what took gadgets like television scores of years. With the advent of smartphones and 'apps', we have everything we need in our little devices [not so little, ever since 'phablets' became a craze], right from our grocery shopping all the way to checking the stock market.
Mobile technology, which finds its roots in mobility or movement, is an innovation where you can connect with a specific commodity, be it a person or an item of your interest. taking this word in it's liberal sense, mobile technology, holds the key to the future of education, particularly with reference to places when manned forces are available in scarcity. The future, will see a host of technological advancements that make it possible for access of study material and language to a place like Africa, where a lack of a common language among people living fairly close to each other, is the reason for their anarchic way of life. 'Education without Borders', via technology is a hope and dream for the future of mobile technology
The popular concept of 'home-schooling' will benefit largely in the future, where everything from holographic projections from phones to infinitesimal robots controlled by phones will be a reality. On the downside, mobile controlled pre-recorded audio messages, that can be discretely fit into the ear, to retell answers is also possible, and stretching the possibilities to the realm of science fiction, text scanning lenses [controlled by the purposeful cellphones], which reply the pictorial images to the wearer, will be largely popular, if possible.
Schools will possibly adapt to this change by making apps for each of their subjects with updates of what happened in class, it might even be possible to receive a high school diploma without attending the school at all, wherein the school provides a separate set of facilities for children and their parents who wish to do so. Universities can create apps to quicken the selection process! Possibilities are endless
Social media. Popular rapper, Iggy Azalea, after a recent spat with the paparazzi, commented that
"Internet is the ugliest reflection of mankind there is"
The anonymity that the internet offers, when combined with the accessibility that the mobile phone offers, has grown to create a deadly concoction of negativity, bullying and social crippling. The future of the mobile technology will see a giant growth in this trend, as unfortunate as that is,. because anonymity is golden spoon of the internet, without which many of its users are unwilling to sit of the meal. This is not to say that advancements in social media will not take place in a way that benefit its users. I am all for social media, which provides a platform like no other, to observe and learn the world around us, and interact with like minded people. Unfortunately, many people are not using it for this purpose, which is the basic problem.
The future of social media is, to explain the concept in brief, fame. One of the biggest reasons for YouTube's success is that people used this to show their talent in a field and based on popular vote, got recognition and got to do what they loved for a living. I think this, this ability to show people that they can live the dream, is the principle behind the future of social media. By creating apps where people where people can display their talents and this is sent to the pockets of a talent scouter, one hits jackpot. For example, if Simon Cowell decides to make an app where musicians can send their work to him, or any professional can contact the industry of his interest directly, without a middleman, or a 'middle process', for the lack of a better word, is eliminated!
The other key of social media is voyeurism, because strangers judge and comment on people they neither know nor truly care about. Apps that facilitate this, like a messaging app that will send a message from you to a total stranger, and you can begin a conversation [taking pen pal to an all new level] or one which can make friend groups and detect each other's location [okay, now this is starting to sound dangerous, but if you're willing to indulge in the app, you are probably willing to indulge in the consequences too] those will make big sellers, and I can see a future that accommodates them. There was a point in human existence where, sharing what you ate or where you went on a daily basis, was unimaginable, but here we are!
A boon and a curse are the two sides of the same coin.
We live in a world where ensuring everyone knows what you're doing is more important than what you are doing itself. Maybe, just maybe, we can use this incredible tool to educate people so that the future unravels a world where who you really are holds the the upper hand over how many people 'like' [or double tap] you.
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