Technological progress means making things do more of what we want. When the thing we want is something we want to want, we consider technological progress good.

What is progress?

The rate of progress is accelerating, which means that an increasing number of things we like, will be transformed into things we like too much.The closest thing to "things we like too much" is the colloquial sense of "addictive".

Acceleration of progress

The world is more addictive than it was 40 years ago. And unless the forms of technological progress that produced these things are subject to different laws than technological progress in general, the world will get more addictive in the next 40 years than it did in the last 40.

Addictiveness is increasing

One sense of "normal" is statistically normal: what everyone else does.The other is the sense we mean when we talk about the normal operating range of a piece of machinery: what works best.

What does it mean to be "normal"?

The more things we like will mean more things we have to be careful about. Most people will not be careful about addictiveness, unfortunately. This will result in a new normality, which will define people by what they say no to.An important thing to note is that we'll have to worry not just about new things, but also about existing things becoming more addictive.

How to prevent addictiveness?

We'll increasingly be defined by what we say no to.

I have always been careful about addictions in my life and I think this article is a great read for anyone trying to understand why the world is becoming more addictive and how to protect yourself.

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

health

Health

technologyandthefuture

Technology & The Future

problemsolving

Problem Solving

The Acceleration of Addictiveness

Asking questions leads to knowledge, not just about our population size or place of birth, but about every aspect of our lives. Surveys have grown to allow everyone to ask opinions on their products and services, from your local pet store to huge multinational corporations. This desire to use surveys to move forward started with the census.

A census is an amazing system

The history of surveys is essentially the history of the technology used to collect and interpret information. As tech has developed, so has our capacity to know ourselves on a large scale.<ul><li>The first mention of a census is in the Bible in the book of Exodus. </li><li>In Chinese mythology, you’ll find a census from 2000 years before the common era – the census of Yu the Great.</li><li>The Romans used a census throughout the Republican period and then into the empire, where they would use it to structure their society.</li></ul>

The history of surveys

During Roman times, censuses were taken on everything, from bundles of knotted thread to wax tablets. The information was engraved on stone. Eventually, the technology of paper transformed communication and record-keeping. But the problem with paper is that it comes large and unwieldy.  In the United States, the first census in 1790 asked basic questions such as sex, age, and race. But as the number of census questions became dramatically larger, they reached a crisis point where they needed to have a way of literally, physically manipulating this paper.

Paper census found inadequate

The 1880 census in the United States had an increasingly important role, for example, in determining how the political representation would be assigned. But with a growing population, the census was also growing, collecting more data than the government could tabulate or quickly process.A breakthrough in how all the data could be interpreted came when Charles Seaton, the Chief Clerk of the Census, invented the Seaton Device. It had a complicated system of rollers where you could take a wide sheet and roll it through these rollers so that two columns would appear side by side.

The Seaton Device

Herman Hollerith previously worked in the census office and experienced first-hand how broken the process of collecting, analyzing, and reporting on that data was. So he built a machine that counted the stored data at a far greater speed and with far higher accuracy than they’d been able to before. Hollerith’s machine was used in the 1890 census. In just two years, the job was done, saving the government $5 million. Hollerith began to see the potential for using the data on the cards for other information. He found adjacent businesses for the storage and tabulation of large data sets.

Herman Hollerith tabulating machine

Tristram Hooley, a professor at Inland Norway University, spend years running online surveys for businesses. He co-wrote a book, What is Online Research, in which the authors pinpoint the birth of the online survey. The first online survey was possibly in 1986 when they were doing a survey about surveys to figure out if it would work. From the 1990s, it became easier to access some subset of the general population through online surveys.  From the 2000s, you get things like Web 2.0 Technologies and SurveyMonkey. Today, almost every business has experimented with it in some way.

The birth of the online survey

The biggest challenge is to get people to fill them in. If you want to claim some sort of representativeness of what you are doing, you have to get the right people or the right spread of people to fill it in. Some surveys are not well made. For example, <ul><li>A business asks you something they should already know such as emailing a survey asking you for your email address.</li><li>They ask too many questions. Most people get bored after four or five questions. </li><li>Clicking on the survey link and it pops over a new window. You wanted to be in your email, not on another webpage.</li></ul>

Online survey challenges

You’ll get a better response rate and quality response if your survey is in context, asking customers questions about the thing they’re currently doing in your product. Surveys should reach users wherever they are, be that your web application or your mobile app, and they can also be sent via a link through an email or a push notification if needed.

Essentials of online surveys

Andrew Whitby, author of The Sum of the People: How the Census Has Shaped Nations, from the Ancient World to the Modern Age, gives insight into the history and uses of surveys.

A whistle-stop tour into the history of surveys - from the first mentions in the ancient worlds to the effortless, ubiquitous version we have today.Find out more about Intercom Surveys hereSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

computerscience

Computer Science

podcasts

Podcasts

On Inside Intercom you'll hear the team from Intercom interview makers and do-ers from the worlds of product management, design, startups and marketing.

Inside Intercom

Questioning tech: The past, present, and future of survey tools

<ul><li>The language we use is determined by "weak tie" relationships, that is, with strangers and interlocutors. For the first time in history, the internet provides an entire world of weak ties. </li><li>The result is that internet language has evolved in different stages. If you remember MUDs, AIM, or Habbo Hotel, you might remember internet language differently. </li><li>"Lol" has a huge variety of linguistic uses, and it is a fascinating example of how internet vocabulary serves IRL (in real life) needs.</li></ul>

The Web And How We Talk: Key Takeaways

<ul><li>Naughty,” in Shakespeare’s England, was to be a “naught person” — a soulless, wicked, half-man. </li><li> “Awful” and “awesome” once meant the same. (They both meant “awesome.”) </li><li>To be “generous” once meant to be of noble and pure blood. (Only they could be magnanimous, you see.) </li><li>If you were “disappointed” you were quite literally removed from office — you were fired.</li></ul>

Language: Then and Now

Language has always changed, but it does so as a slow trawl and rarely ventures far. Semantic shift operates like a tree, growing slowly but resolutely, and it’s only with the time-lapse of retrospection that we can see how far it has come.But then, at the end of the 20th century, something peculiar happened to the world. Suddenly the tiny, isolated communities and regional variations were thrown together. We had the internet.

When Tankers Become a Speedboat

The internet makes language change faster because it leads to more weak ties, and you can get to know people who you never would have met otherwise. With hashtags, viral videos, and “following” strangers, we are constantly rubbing up against people of different linguistic communities. Whereas before we would only occasionally meet or form these “weak ties,” now we’re swimming in a sea of linguistic foreigners and interlocutors.

Strong and Weak Ties

They were the early adopters of the internet. Because few of their IRL (in real life) friends were online, these people needed to use “topic-based tools like Usenet, Internet Relay Chat (IRC), Bulletin Board Systems (BBSes), Multi-User Dungeons (MUDs), listservs, and forums” to reach out to strangers. Usenet was the most common, serving as an ancestor to Reddit and Google Groups

The Generations of Internet Users: The Old Internet People

The main difference between this generation and the previous is in seeing the internet as a social medium. The Old Internet People mainly kept their social lives offline, but the second wave turned to MSN, AOL/AIM, MySpace, and WeBlog to connect with friends as well as strangers. Slowly, MySpace gave way to Facebook and Twitter, via social gaming sites like NeoPets and Habbo Hotel.

Social Internet

If you can remember joining social networks when they were still unpopulated, niche, fledgling things, then you likely belong to the above generation. If, though, you joined an already bustling online world of social networks, this is your generation. In this group, there are two noticeable clusters: the first is the “Facebook cluster” (which includes Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube), and the second is the “Instant Messaging” cluster (which includes Snapchat, Instagram, iMessage, and WhatsApp).

Post-Internet

The internet mainstay, 'lol' serves a fascinating variety of functions.Of course, it still acts as an expression of laughter and enjoyment. You can reply to a joke with “lol” and capitalize or give it an exclamation mark if you really liked it. But “lol” also has other uses. It is a way to soften a potentially misread or offensive message, as in, “You were so drunk last night lol.” It can be a way to flirt: “You look good in red lol.” It can express or underline sarcasm, “This lecture is so fun lol.” It can even be passive-aggressive, “You better buy me a present lol.”

The depth to lol

Internet language evolved in stages. If you remember MUDs, AIM, or Habbo Hotel, you might remember it all differently... lol.

communication

Communication

artsandculture

Society, Arts & Culture

How the internet changed our language

Humans are the most advanced species on earth because of their ability to share knowledge and learn from each other. For example, someone has to drill for oil and make plastic before a computer mouse can be made. However, no one person could build a computer mouse from scratch. This shows that humans have more power as a group than any individual alone.

The Rise of Collective Intelligence

Our cultural evolution began with cooking. Cooked foods are higher in calories and require less chewing than raw foods. In less time, more nutritious food could be shared by more people due to cooking. It also led to the early specialization of labor: women gathered grains, while men hunted large animals. With this increase in nutrition and the surplus created by cooking, trade began in ancient times.

It Started With Cooking

Over the past 10,000 years, life expectancy has increased and infant mortality has decreased. People are healthier now than they were in the past. They have more food options and can afford to buy everyday items that are much cheaper than they used to be. Life has improved drastically over time—in 1800 England, life expectancy was only 40 years old! Today’s society is much safer than what it used to be a hundred years ago. Nowadays you can get almost anything you want at any time of day—foods that kings could only dream about are available on every street corner!

How Far We Have Come

Although the world has become a better place, it’s not necessarily making people happier. People in developing nations are doing better than those in developed ones were 50 years ago. However, they’re still not satisfied with their lives and want more things like electronics and cars. One reason for this is that although most Americans have all of these things already, they still want more because other people have even nicer stuff than them. Happiness comes from social justice and political freedom as well as prosperity.

A Rising Tide Lifts the Poor’s Boat, Too

The miracles of globalization are clear to consumers. Consumers can purchase products from all around the world, and they have access to a wide variety of goods and services. This is possible because people specialize in doing one thing well, so that they can trade their goods with others who do other things well. Most workers only make one small item or provide one service, which allows them to buy many different kinds of items made by thousands of other people.

A Global Market

People’s lives are easier now than ever before because they don’t need to spend every hour providing for themselves; instead, they rely on the labor of others thanks to transportation and logistics.The division of labor began thousands of years ago after cooking with fire became commonplace; men hunted while women gathered food for the family.

Enjoying The Labour Of Others

Human interactions among strangers were often violent long before trade-based societies emerged, and war over limited resources was relatively common. Things changed, however, as we lived in larger groups and traded with outsiders. Trust developed between us, which propelled humanity forward.Developing trust is dependent on exchange, a uniquely human attribute. Through exchange, people began to realize that cooperating with strangers was in their own self-interest.

From Fighting To Bargaining

The threat of overpopulation was real, but technological advances over the past few centuries have put an end to it. <ul><li>First, internal combustion engines replaced draught animals that required extra land for grazing. There was an instant shift from grazing to farming. </li><li>Secondly, the invention of fertilizer in the early 1900s increased soil productivity, enabling more food to be produced on a smaller area of land.</li></ul>

Tackling Overpopulation

Around 7,000 years ago, cities appeared along trade routes in Mesopotamia, where goods were exchanged from around the world. Wine, metals, olive oil, wheat and wool, as well as other goods they could not source locally, were traded through these routes. The products made from these goods and the demand for them in the cities facilitated the first merchants and professional traders. Rather than living off the land, people were able to make an income through trade for the first time in history.

The Start Of Modern Trade

Innovations have continued to be sparked by cities throughout history. As London developed more inventions than any other city in 1800, the world marveled. It is not that Londoners were smarter than everyone else, but rather that the city was drawing talent from around the world. Inventors knew they could mix their ideas with the important ideas of others in London. Historically, cities have been centres of incubation and diffusion of ideas. Education increased as fresh ideas from around the world cross pollinated.

Innovation And The City

The discovery of fossil fuels such as coal led to the greatest improvement in energy efficiency. In the late 1900s, these fuels accounted for 85% of the world’s energy use. Suddenly, slavery and animal labor became unprofitable because fossil fuels were so efficient. Everyone’s income and standard of living rose as a result of the use of fossil fuels.

Fossil Fuels

We can prevent climate change altogether. Even if environmentalists try to reduce carbon emissions by force, natural reductions are occurring nonetheless. Technologies are continuously improved to reduce carbon emissions. As the ratio of carbon atoms to hydrogen atoms decreased dramatically as humans moved from wood to coal, oil, and gas for energy. By 1935, only 50% of all combustion used to make energy was based on carbon atoms. By 2070, most carbon atoms will have been removed from the energy system due to innovation.

Handling Climate Change Together

Untold numbers of strangers share photographs, advice, recipes, donations, and even medical records online, 24 hours a day. The simple act of sharing benefits others and contributes to a vast knowledge network in ways that cannot be underestimated.The Internet has transformed the Internet into a global city in which almost everyone on the planet can freely share knowledge, despite the fact that we all live separate lives in different parts of the world.Because the Internet specializes in one thing: exchange, a massive cultural revolution is underway.

The Internet And The Cross Pollination Of Ideas

By sharing ideas, they grow and thrive. Since the 1800s, we have increased living standards as a result of the accumulation of collective knowledge.As more people gain an understanding of a bicycle, for instance, they will find new ways to use it and develop new technology based on it. <ul><li>Our ability to share ideas more efficiently raises the bar for all of humanity.</li><li>Often, we do not realize how good our ideas are until they are shared.</li></ul>

Sharing Of Ideas

Read about these urban centers that were sites of significant advances in culture, economics, politics, technology, etc.

writing

Reading & Writing

history

History

philosophy

Philosophy

Centers of Progress

A positive look at how far we have come, and how much good we can do, together.

For two hundred years the pessimists have dominated public discourse, insisting that things will soon be getting much worse. But in fact, life is getting better—and at an accelerating rate. Food availability, income, and life span are up; disease, child mortality, and violence are down all across the globe. Africa is following Asia out of poverty; the Internet, the mobile phone, and container shipping are enriching people's lives as never before. In his bold and bracing exploration into how human culture evolves positively through exchange and specialization, bestselling author Matt Ridley does more than describe how things are getting better. He explains why. An astute, refreshing, and revelatory work that covers the entire sweep of human history—from the Stone Age to the Internet—The Rational Optimist will change your way of thinking about the world for the better.

books

Books

For two hundred years the pessimists have dominated public discourse, insisting that things will soon be getting much worse. But in fact, life is getting better—and at an accelerating rate. Food availability, income, and life span are up; disease, child mortality, and violence are down all across the globe. Africa is following Asia out of poverty; the Internet, the mobile phone, and container shipping are enriching people's lives as never before. In his bold and bracing exploration into how human culture evolves positively through exchange and specialization, bestselling author Matt Ridley does more than describe how things are getting better. He explains why. An astute, refreshing, and revelatory work that covers the entire sweep of human history—from the Stone Age to the Internet—The Rational Optimist will change your way of thinking about the world for the better.

Matt Ridley

The Rational Optimist

For years, it has been an accepted belief that cloud computing and artificial intelligence will fuel a surge in wealth-generating productivity. This belief caused a flood of venture funding and company spending. The payoff is supposed to benefit the entire economy, but that hasn't happened yet. Productivity is defined as the value of goods and services produced per hour of work. A government report showed that the growth in productivity since the pandemic is 1 % annually, in line with the rate since 2010 and far below the stretch from 1996 to 2004, when productivity grew more than 3 % a year.

Productivity across the economy is elusive

Economies grow not only by adding capital and labour. Another vital ingredient to economic growth is the ability to commercialise innovation, which makes investment and workers more productive. A small percentage gain in productivity can significantly impact a country's wealth over time.  While productivity is not the only factor in economic wealth, a less productive economy has fewer resources to deal with social challenges.

Artificial technology is not transformational as expected

Sceptics like economist Robert J. Gordon states that today's artificial intelligence is mainly a pattern recognition technology. While its feats are impressive, it is not transformational in the way electricity and the internal combustion engine were. Others are more optimistic about productivity from innovations like cloud computing and artificial intelligence. Erik Brynjolfsson, director of Stanford University's Digital Economy Lab, says that while the productivity pickup is not yet evident, it may be just a matter of time.

Optimistic and pessimistic views 

Anthem,  a health insurer whose plans cover more than 45 million people, said digital technology had spared its call centres from having to answer an estimated 10 million customer service calls. Building the technical capability is just the beginning. It takes time for new technologies to spread and for people to know how to best use them. For example, it took the electric motor forty years before productivity gains were realised in mass production. Likewise, the personal computer took off in the 1980s, but economic productivity only surged in the second half of the 1990s.

New technologies take time to spread

Innovations like cloud computing and artificial intelligence are hailed as engines of a coming productivity revival. But a broad payoff across the economy has been elusive.

productivity

Productivity

Discover the world of business and economics.

economics

Economics

Why Isn’t New Technology Making Us More Productive?

The metaverse can be best described as an evolution of today's internet. It is something we are immersed in, not something we look at. It is a vast digital world that is parallel to our physical world. The metaverse presents an opportunity for marketers to engage consumers in new ways and push internal capabilities in new directions. Marketers should take the opportunity to embrace a test-and-learn mindset and start exploring what the metaverse can offer.

A shift in how we use the internet

<ul><li>The metaverse encompasses immersive environments, often using virtual- or augmented-reality technology.</li><li>It is always on and exists in real-time.</li><li>It spans the virtual and physical worlds, as well as multiple platforms.</li><li>A fully functioning virtual economy powers the metaverse. It is often built on cryptocurrency and digital goods and assets, including nonfungible tokens (NFTs).</li><li>It allows people to have virtual identities, presence, and “agency”, including peer-to-peer interactions, transactions, user-generated content, and world-building.</li></ul>

Characteristics of the metaverse

Critical elements of marketing are similar to brand experiences in the physical world. However, the application can be very different. <ul><li>Define your metaverse marketing goals. For the near term, the primary goal shouldn't be driving sales directly.</li><li>Identify which platforms provide the best opportunity and brand fit. Examples include Roblox, Fortnite, Decentraland, and Meta’s Horizon Worlds.</li><li>Design experiences appealing to target audiences.</li><li>Experiment with money-making models.</li><li>Leverage and partner for new metaverse capabilities.</li><li>Proactively plan for risks.</li><li>Rethink how you measure marketing success.</li></ul>

Rewriting the rules of marketing for the metaverse

The metaverse gives companies many opportunities for brand building and marketing. A few questions will shape its longer-term evolution. <ul><li>How will it work in the metaverse to transfer digital avatars and assets across multiple worlds? What are the implications?</li><li>How will the social contract and legal framework for the metaverse evolve? How will user safety be ensured?</li><li>How will first-party consumer data be stored, managed, and protected?</li></ul>

Shaping the longer-term evolution of the metaverse 

marketingandsales

Marketing & Sales

business

Business

Marketing in the metaverse: An opportunity for innovation and experimentation

Investors may find a thousand reasons to tell you no, but take heart: Your background probably isn’t one of them. A 2020 Pitchbook survey found only 15 percent of investors value background, which is less than half of what it was the year before.Even better, the same study showed that where the value in executive branch pedigree waned, the value in profitability saw an 8 percent increase.statistics show that there’s a new trend venture capitalists are valuing, and understanding what VCs are looking for can help minimize the effects of imposter syndrome among entrepreneurs.

For Nontech Entrepreneurs 

In a world where everyone seems to have a million-dollar idea, finding support and investors who believe in yours, even in the tech world, can be challenging. Another factor that may seem like a barrier? Coming from a nontraditional background outside the FAANG realm — meaning, without experience at the tech behemoths Facebook/Meta, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Alphabet’s Google.A nontraditional work background filled with diverse experiences should be celebrated when entering the startup world.

Having A Non-Traditional Background

It's important to understand how to leverage your unique skills when it comes to acquiring VC funding as a founder with a nontraditional background. When planning your pitches, start with these steps:<ul><li>Embrace your ability to think like a buyer</li><li>Speak multiple industry languages</li><li>Flex your skills from past experience</li></ul>

What VCs Look For

Having a nontraditional background can be the secret to creating value in tech and attracting funding. The key is to understand how to leverage your unique skills.

Understand yourself and those around you.

psychology

Psychology

career

Career

How to Leverage a Nontech Background (and Fight Imposter Syndrome)

India is changing and is rapidly moving towards skill-oriented jobs. As per McKinsey’s report, India is the world's fastest digitizing economy only after Indonesia. It also happens to be the world's third-largest start-up centre. Bengaluru is called the "new Silicon Valley" for the right reasons. Recently, LinkedIn released a list of in-demand skills in India that entail a brighter future.

New Silicon Valley in India?

Blockchain Developers are responsible for creating and optimizing blockchain protocols. They design blockchain systems' architecture and create technology-related goods and services. They are usually required to develop a backend pertaining to the blockchain. There are endless opportunities available along with great remuneration in the market. This demand will only increase in the future. However, there are several important technical skills that a candidate is expected to have, including concepts like cryptographic hash functions, smart contract development, and languages.

Blockchain Developers

JavaScript Developers are involved in the programming, development, and implementation of a website. The programming language is expected to see more job prospects in the near future. Employers are also expected to work in front-end systems that define the behaviour of the visual elements of a web application. Anybody wishing to be a JavaScript developer needs to start reading quality content along with upgrading skills like asynchronous and functional programming. Good communication helps to keep up with the industry.

JavaScript Developers

AI (Artificial Intelligence) Specialists are the backbone of businesses across the world. They work to automate processes and machine learning. They work with major technologies by solving business or research problems using NLP (natural language processing), text, or image recognition. Their contribution to the market is being highly recognized. Their services are in-demand in cities like Pune, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru in top industries like IT, Internet, research, and education management.

AI (Artificial Intelligence) Specialists 

RPA (Robotic Process Automation) Consultant is required to work with organizations to help them optimize the use of RPA to maximize their profits. Using skills like UiPath, Blue Prism, SQL, and process automation, RPA consultants are involved in creating software robots that automate manual business processes. They are also expected to have experience with Agile and DevOps along with proficiency in programming languages like Python, C, C++, and Java.

RPA (Robotic Process Automation) Consultant

Growth Managers are the most required for any company’s proper functioning. They use growth hacking techniques to manage and evolve businesses. They are responsible for getting more clients for business. They work on large data sets to analyze market insights and recognize opportunities in the market. Apart from business-market research, they are expected to work on team management, growth, and digital marketing strategies. Food and beverage, Internet, IT, financial services, and marketing and advertising are among the major industries that use these abilities.

Growth Managers

startup

Startups

artificialintelligence

Artificial Intelligence

Indian Job Prospects: Top IT Skills in Demand

It is estimated there are over 5 billion people who own mobile phones. With over half of the world’s population engaging with electronic devices, the spotlight has been on what technology can do for us, rather than what it is doing to us. Consequently, there has been less thought on what happens to our bodies while using handheld devices.Recent studies suggest 19 year olds have the same physical activity levels as 6o year olds. What is more, the widespread use of mobile phones has materialized into varying degrees of poor posture.

Five Billion Smartphone Users

In 2013, a survey conducted in the United Kingdom, found 84 percent of young adults ages 18–24 said they’ve suffered back pain, believing this to be caused by iPosture from using mobile devices.With the frequency and duration of phone usage across the globe, the implications of poor posture influenced by excessive usage is now well known. Yet, while today’s mobile phone users know more about why sitting slumped behind a screen isn’t good for them, they still don’t really know how to protect their stature while engaging with their devices.

The iPosture

You might not remember such a lesson because other than a health or physical education class, you probably didn’t learn how to use your body efficiently at school.You were never prepared or informed on ways to respond to all the triggers of life. Instead, you just acted and reacted. You formed these habits out of necessity — to survive — with no guidance or knowledge there was an alternative choice.

Body Education

Modern phones operate quite differently. They are designed to keep you on them. There are multiple triggers at play: texting, talking, reading, browsing, listening to music, watching videos, etc. Reacting to just a few of those activities simultaneously could easily put the body in overdrive.The aim of present day technology is to keep you engaged. However, the body has a hard time keeping up with all of the choices. Reacting to so much stimuli fatigues the body and leads to collapse, or iPosture.

Slow Down

The body is designed to bend at the joints. Most people who use electronic devices bring their heads down and bend their spine by rounding their backs towards the device. Alternatively, it would be more efficient to move forward from the hip joints and keep the back upright in the process.Overusing the spine and lower back muscles and under-using other muscles whose function is to hold the torso upright — like the core muscles, perpetuates body contortion.

Move with The Body as It Was Designed

Using the body effectively starts with awareness. While technology has been an exciting and invaluable part of life, there are more mindful ways to engage with it.For starters, how much pressure and tension do you apply to the devices you hold and carry? Chances are, you could easily loosen your grip and still enjoy using your handheld electronics. However, pay attention to the way you engage with your beloved device.

Loosen Your Grip

The next time you remember to check your posture while perusing your favorite app, think ‘up’ instead of straight. Imagine your head is going up like a balloon towards the sky and your spine is the string that follows. That balloon is lifting you up with the gentle breeze that isn’t forced and that string is coming along for the ride — both floating up freely.

Use Your Body in A Different Way

Technology has enabled us to connect to the world and each other in ways that weren’t previously possible. It can be easily credited with the innovation, communication and longevity we enjoy today. There are plenty of reasons to embrace and celebrate technology.Being mindful of how much, how often and to what extent we engage with technology is key to living a balanced lifestyle.

Technology Is Not the Enemy

Standing tall in a techno-savvy world is possible if we pay attention and recognize harmful habits that interfere with our body’s optimal functioning. <ul><li>The next time you want to reach for your phone, pause first. Check yourself out. Is your head up? Great. Did your spine follow? Excellent. </li><li>Did you bring the device up towards you rather than the other way around? Wonderful. </li><li>Now, what about that grip? When in doubt, less is more.</li></ul>

The Bottom Line

How technology is reshaping our bodies and what we can do about it

According to the Pew Research Center, it is estimated there are over 5 billion people who own mobile phones. With over half of the world’s population engaging with electronic devices, the spotlight…

habits

Habits

exerciseandfitness

Exercise & Fitness

Standing Tall in the Era of iPosture

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has immeasurably improved the privacy rights of millions inside and outside of Europe. Yet, it hasn't stamped out the worst problems. Complaints allege that Google, WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram forced people into giving up their data without actual consent. Civil society groups have grown frustrated with GDPR's limitations while the information economy moves ahead at a staggering speed.

The world-leading data law

In January 2012, lawmakers in Brussels proposed reforming Europe's data rules. The GDPR law was finally passed in 2016, giving companies two years to comply. GDPR enforce how businesses must handle personal data, such as names and IP addresses, but it doesn't ban the use of data in cases such as police use of intrusive facial recognition. It uses seven principles to guide how your data can be used and stored. GDPR use these principles that allow each European country to issue fines of up to 4 per cent of a firm's global turnover for violating GDPR principles.

How the GDPR works

Several early and complex GDPR complaints have led to backlogs at regulators, and paperwork has slowed down international cooperation.<ul><li>Since May 2018, the Irish regulator, responsible for Meta's Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram, plus all of Google's services, Airbnb, Yahoo, Twitter, Microsoft, Apple, and LinkedIn, has completed 65 per cent of over 400 cases involving cross border decisions.</li><li>Other cases against Netflix (Netherlands), Spotify (Sweden), and PimEyes (Poland) have been ongoing for years.</li></ul> Yet Europe's data regulators claim GDPR enforcement is working well and improving.

GDPR complaints

Despite enforcement problems, GDPR has had an incalculable effect on data practices broadly. <ul><li>EU countries have made decisions in thousands of local cases and issued guidance to organizations to say how they should use people’s data.</li><li>Some of GDPR’s impact is also hidden. For example, it has improved company behaviours. Companies have stopped using people’s data suspiciously when they wouldn’t have thought twice about it before GDPR.</li></ul>

The positive effect of GDPR

How GDPR Is Failing

Find 100+ Facts about Technology - Curated by others from trusted sources like Books, Podcasts & Articles - Genuine Insights from like-minded Users like You!