A few years ago, communication was more tied
to the conventional, where you would send a letter, a fax or even spend time at
the booth waiting for that prearranged call. You will agree that it was such a
difficult thing to communicate and the speed with which the messages were
relayed was slow. The advent of mobile technology saw a revolution in
communication and today, millions of messages are flying in the air courtesy of
the mobile.
Evolution
The mobile
phone has evolved to what it is today; twenty-five years ago, the
mobile was rather a big gadget, which resembled the walk-talkie and would be
used to answer calls. One would stick to a reliable source of power because we
did not have batteries that would last for long. Today, these devices come in
different sizes, features and the battery life can go up to even a week for
some.
Communication can be done
through voice calls, texting or even through the social media platforms like
Twitter, Facebook and such. Wherever you are and at whatever time, day or
night, you can communicate with your intended party and this has made it more
comfortable.
Mobile money
This can be regarded
as the essential mobile innovation of our time that has seen a change of lives.
Unlike in the past, today you can send money anywhere within minutes; wherever
you are, there is an agency that can help you load your mobile with money or
receive it. The economies of most of the countries have improved especially the
sub-Saharan Africa where the poverty level has been high since time immemorial.
Money can change hands in minutes, and this has developed the level of trade
and thus revenues. Mobile money has
created millions of jobs both directly and indirectly since its innovation some
14 years ago. The unbanked population increased tremendously to above 60% of
the world population in the last five years alone, and the number is going up
by the day.
Challenges with mobile
tech
It is evident that the
mobile has borne fruits that cannot be underrated and continues to affect
millions of lives through ease of communication positively. Despite such, it
comes with its challenges, which are on the increase.
Crime has become more sophisticated
with the mobile technology. The perpetrators can easily scheme, commit a crime
in minutes, and disappear. Again, cybercrime has gone to the increase where
fraudulent transactions have increased a hundredfold. Every other day, you hear
of millions of money that have been lost
through fraudulent transactions. There have been cases of other forms of
crime abetted through the mobile including suicide. You can learn more of this
on Internationalbrief.com.
Much can be said about the mobile innovation, but the
fact is that every minute, there is a new creation, coming through the mobile.
We can only embrace it; economies that are running fast in inculcating this
technology realize the fastest growth. It is an ever-growing technology, and no
one knows what it will bring tomorrow.
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In what ways have you noticed how cell phones have changed our lives? Please share your thoughts or concerns below. We would love to hear from you!
