What did Technology bring to us all?

Do you remember the professional freelance photographer that used to rove beaches and resorts, offering his services to beautiful ladies and families, for a certain not-so-high fee? Do you remember how people were posing according to the photographer’s indications and instructions, and how they were eagerly waiting to receive their photographs after development? What happened to that kind of experience?

Well, what happened was that the job of the photographer was simply eliminated, fewer people seek professional photographers now, except when it concerns high level occasions; weddings, important receptions, political or economic events, or the like. Now, everyone is a photographer, with their smartphones, they are just pointing and shooting, disregarding the quality of the final shots or the skillful application of light and shadow effects, not to mention that if you know someone familiar with Photoshop, you can remove any unwanted features that, magically, appeared in your photograph, because you did not take care of many elements; such as the background, the position of the sun, that trash on the sand, or the direction of the wind.

The same applies to many other professions. They sank in the moving sands of technology.
It is essential to state that the great advances of science and its applications in what concerns devices and tools became an important part of all our lives. Communications became so easy and accessible that you can practically get in touch with anyone anywhere around the world in a matter of seconds. Remember how difficult it used to be to find a public phone booth during emergencies? And do you remember that if the person you are trying to call was not home at the moment of the phone call or even in another room, you might not be able to talk to them at all?

You can read any book in any language the moment it is published, you can listen to music without carrying around a box full of tapes or CDs. And you can watch a movie or a TV series on TV, PC, tablet or smartphone, regardless of where you are located in the world.

However, it is important to discuss the other side of the coin, technology was the reason for many problems related to security, free speech, jobs, and more.

Everyone became an expert photographer who knows everything there is about the art of photography, the moment he/she bought the latest iPhone or Galaxy device.

No one needs to go to university to study history or literary styles, or the basic ethics of storytelling; they do not need to know about the difference between writing news for print, radio, or TV. They just create a blog or open an account on Facebook and start writing, stating that they are Journalists; experts in their fields.
Suddenly, everyone is an expert in politics, economy, medicine, technology, investments, and the deepest and most important questions of our existence.

This has led to a situation where many people get their health advices from self-proclaimed medical experts instead of turning to real medical doctors; many are taking their essential directives concerning their mental status from literal charlatans who have an attractive website and some agents promoting them on social media; many take their daily dose of news and information from sources that the least we can describe them with is untruthful or misleading; and many children or teenagers are being deceived and harmed by criminals and predators posing as online friends and helpers, or by dragging them into extreme political or criminal groups.

Not everyone is an expert; this is a fact. But technology, and the Internet, turned many fakes into experts, and gave them the opportunity to gather followers and make money and present themselves as the real solution to everyone’s problems, and that is THE PROBLEM.