In the 21st century, technology has become an even bigger part of our daily lives than ever before. When issues are encountered, most of the time, there’s a tech-related solution. If a friend is betting that Lionel Messi’s scored 500 goals and you disagree with him, you can Google it. If it’s your first time cooking a dish, you can watch a YouTube tutorial. Too lazy to pick up your take-out? Sites like GrubHub will send someone to pick it up for you.

 

Besides making our day to day easier, technology has also been used to face real problems. In the 1960s, you couldn’t start a hashtag movement to combat corrupt governments. Today, however, the blogging scene has made an impact in nations such as Tunisia and Egypt, where the Arab Spring allowed users to communicate and plan protests. While government officials had shut down FaceBook and Twitter, protesters found a way around the bans. Many used computer programming to ultimately enter these sites without government knowledge, while others kept people up to date on their own personal blogs. Text messages were another important factor, as people sent messages in code to coordinate more demonstrations.

Video format has also been influential in the technology revolution. Millions of users each day use sites such as YouTube, DailyMotion, and Vimeo. Meanwhile, Netflix and Hulu dominate the App Store as they make the same shows you see on TV accessible on tablets and phones. Videos are also changing the way people think. Documentaries made by YouTube channels such as Vice give perspective on issues such as the Chicago public school system and instability in the Central African Republic. KONY 2012, a small film made by a humanitarian group operating in Uganda, helped raise the world’s awareness on child soldiers. That particular video was successful, as donations came in the millions after its release.

 

I believe that technology is and will be shaping the world we live in for years to come. Although positive repercussions are not the only result of the tech revolution, these good impacts can be used to fight the negative consequences. It will be interesting to see how the next 20 years pan out, and what additional contributions that our keyboards, windows and codes end up making.