In some countries, are people too reliant on apps and technology?
Technology is everywhere. In just about three decades we have seen the rise of technologies, and now we are so dependent on them that we cannot imagine a day without the Internet connection. Our attachment is so intense, that losing a mobile, a tablet or a smartwatch has turned into the worst nightmare imaginable. If we have not checked the recent updates and news on Facebook or Instagram we feel like we have fallen out of reality. Moreover, let’s just think, if offered to spend simply a day without any gadgets and technology, how many would voluntarily agree?
Not only has technology become a profound entertainment, but it has also penetrated into our work dictating us the new skills, knowledge, and expertise we have to acquire. The accurate use of digital technologies paired with a talented team of A-players provides unprecedented opportunity to leverage any business. In many countries, the level of technological advancement directly affects the economic growth and determines the policy of the country. The richer and more developed the country is, the more it focuses on digital industry. That is the reason why developed countries are more dependent on technology compared with others.
Various polls and research studies have been undertaken in order to determine which countries are the most Internet and technology addicted. The most recent study (2016), conducted by Ipsos Global Trends, aimed to rank the countries where people cannot imagine their lives without Internet and cutting-edge technologies. The top three leading countries on the list are India (82%), Great Britain (78%) and China (77%).
The digital experience of India and China is of a particular amazement. China is one of the countries, which has explicitly powered its economy to global competitiveness through digital transformation. This country, the economic giant and the top international manufacturer, makes the largest online community globally. Numerous social and commercial apps have gradually but steadily altered the lifestyle of millions of Chinese people.
One of the primary apps they use, and which is at the same time a perfect example of Internet addiction, is WeChat, which actually has come to completely substitute ‘traditional’ mobile communication. This app is the common way of receiving news and communicating with other people. For Chinese voice and video calls are the outdated way of communication: numerous voice recordings and instant WeChat messages have come to replace them. Penetration of mobile payments is yet another way of making the population vulnerable and so attached to their gadgets. In China, you can easily forget about cash, and simply carry your mobile: all your money may be safely deposited on your WeChat or Alipay balance, and you do not need to mind losing your wallet.
Taobao, JD, DiDi are some of the few other commercial apps that are deeply ingrained in the life of any Chinese person. Online shopping, ordering food online, communicating online, sharing business ideas online: it seems China is trapped into the Internet web and there is no easy way to escape. Once you are in the Chinese subway you would see literally everyone staring at their gadgets. They are reading, selecting clothes, and simply chatting: this is the Chinese lifestyle nowadays.
On the contrary, in some developing countries, the Internet craze and reliance on gadgets have not completely overwhelmed the population. The experience of linking the technology dependency to the economy of the country proved to be accurate. So, the formula is the following: the less developed the country is, the less it is dependent on the digital world. In such developing countries, as Armenia, Georgia, Turkey, and other countries undergoing the post-Soviet transformation, the attraction to gadgets is conditioned by using social media, but have not developed into the utmost reliance on those. People mostly view technologies as an entertaining way for communication and for making new acquaintances. In such countries, companies are just starting to use digital marketing, but have not accomplished the digital transformation.
Nevertheless, the future prognosis is not comforting even for developing countries. The emergence of numerous startups, the wave of globalization, massive investments into tech will only keep the usage of Internet growing overtimes and will make people of different countries get increasingly dependent both on technology and on the Internet. Even those countries, which have magically avoided being trapped into the online trap, will sooner or later be taken in.
