Roles of Technology in Our Lives

One cannot deny that technology plays a significant role in many aspects of our lives. As technology has brought insurmountable convenience and comfort to us, it is hard to imagine what condition would this world be in if technology is absent.

Technology has contributed extensively in many areas, particularly workplace communication. Communicating with others, even as basic as passing a message can sometimes be challenging. This is where technology comes into the picture. With the advancement of technology, gadgets like pager are introduced and they make communication faster. For example, a person from the first floor can use his or her pager to contact another individual at the tenth floor to get a document prepared in a jiffy.

In the past, video conference is mostly used in presentations. However, with the evolution of technology, it is gradually replaced by a better ‘hybrid’, which is teleconference. With spectacular speed of data connection, virtual meetings can be conducted even at great distance. For instance, Kim Kiyosaki, a famous finance guru and speaker conducted a live teleconference from the United States of America. She was able to share ways on proper finance management without being at the Excel Women’s Conference (27th to 28th September 2014) in Malaysia in person.

As technology keeps improving day by day, it makes the current machinery look mundane. Although teleconference is commonly used to conduct international meetings, but the introduction of hologram does better wonders. It is as if the speaker is really present or at feel. A good proof would be a scene in the movie Captain America : The Winter Soldier, whereby Secretary Alexander Pierce discussed security issues with the holographic World Security Council committee.

Even though computers are provided in a workplace, nonetheless many people prefer to have their own laptop or notebook for work. This is because laptops, unlike desktops, are portable and they allow multitasking too. For instance, if an individual needs to do an impromptu presentation, they can bring that device anywhere and whizz through their work. Otherwise, it would take ages to close a business deal or to complete a simple task. As laptops are affordable nowadays, it can be owned by many, be it students or working class adults. There is a saying that goes, “killing two birds with one stone”. Not only can they have

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easier access to the Internet for information, they can also communicate with others via social networks like Facebook, Skype and Twitter to discuss their assignments or projects, which in a way can strengthen ties while organising their files and e-mails concurrently.

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(II)ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION

Everything has their pros and cons, and even electronic communication, as amazing as it is, is not excluded. Despite bringing countless advantages to us, nevertheless it has its drawbacks.

Firstly, electronic communication can suffer technical glitches on unexpected occasions. For instance, a sudden power failure occurs when an employee is explaining his ideas to potential investors by using his company’s laptop and projector. There is a saying that goes, ‘a picture speaks a thousand words’. If the technical problem cannot be detected and fixed quickly, he may lose his prospects and incur losses to his employers.

In this day and age, with technology ever improving, our privacy can be intruded or compromised at anywhere and anytime. We all know that Internet banking is commonly used nowadays due to its convenience. However, it is vulnerable to hackers. As hackers are equipped with technical expertise, they can infiltrate one’s personal accounts, ranging from e- mail, bank to social network. Cases as such have surfaced at every part of the world and even made it to the front page news and headlines. Imagine a thief using our personal information to siphon our hard-earned savings into his or her account in just one click. Surely, we wish this would never happen to us from time to time, right?

In the service industry, providing good service to customers is of utmost importance. Other than face-to-face interaction, electronic communication is viewed as the fastest to reach out to consumers. Nonetheless, it is sometimes time-consuming. For example, a non tech- savvy person fixing a television set in her home alone. Facing difficulties, she calls the hotline provided for assistance, but she will have to go through the operators and dialling many extension numbers before reaching the technical expert. Along the way, her impatience may grow and the technician may be ‘lectured’ for the long wait, other than being bombarded with many technical questions.

Besides, implementing electronic communication at a workplace can be costly. For instance, a corporation runs on its own specific software for the transferring and sharing of documents or files to protect confidentiality. Although it is secure, this investment would prove to be a waste if it is not user-friendly. The reason is because not everyone is well-

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versed in modern technology. Furthermore, the employees may resort to unsafe methods in the name of speed and convenience.

(III) COMMUNICATION BARRIERS

Ineffective communication is a failure to convey a message that is comprehensive to other parties, thereby causing their inability to respond to it. Much to our chagrin, there are obstacles that disrupt rather hinder effective communication and they are labelled as communication barriers.

One of the common barriers is noise and distractions. For instance, a group of friends is discussing their project and their mobile phones keep ringing from time to time. They will find difficulties in transferring information and getting necessary things done. As the phone’s ringtone can be set to any sound of our preference, what more if the music chosen is not soothing to the ears (noise)?

Apart from that, message filtering is considered as one of the contributors too. As information is passed to different persons along the way, the content of the message may be altered due to the auto-correct function in devices like tablets. For example, a lady is confiding in her pal about her employer’s favouritism at work via her ‘iPad’. If she is not meticulous enough, some short forms and jargons she used may be corrected automatically