National Technology Day

In a time of human history when there are well over a 1,000 National Days to be had, it is far too easy to become lost in the endless sea of National Days that include the likes of National Doughnut Day or even National Bubble Wrap Day. Though while many National Days appear to be trivial and occasionally downright bizarre, there is one National Day that should warrant your attention.

National Technology Day is observed on Jan. 6 of every year in the United States to acknowledge how we both use and benefit from technological advancements today and tomorrow. While it may appear to be just as trivial as the next National Day, it serves to give citizens a better appreciation of the technology we take for granted everyday. Such appreciation is generally lacking in some areas of society with little regard, or even awareness, of how technology benefits people.

Presence of Technology

People would be unable to experience these benefits if technology and its devices lacked a societal prevalence. From computers to phones to radios, the myriad of technological options and variations perforate almost every crevice of the contemporary world. Smartphones are one of the most prominent examples with an astounding 14.02 billion mobile phones in the world today. That is nearly double the world population and is slated to increase even further in the years to come.

Yet the number of devices in circulation around the world can not alone justify the presence technology has in our lives. According to the market-research group Nielson, they calculated the average time spent on technological devices and related media to clock in over 11 hours a day. Now whether such copious time results in detrimental effects is an interesting question, but such is not the topic at hand. Rather, this data demonstrates an ever-increasing use of technology and the role it plays in our lives.

Effects of Technology

The benefits of technology can easily be ascribed as being immense. 

With the advent of smartphones and computers, as well as search engines such as Google and the internet, the ease of access to information is at its zenith. With incredible ease of use and with straightforward ways to search for information, all it takes is a phone or a computer and a Google search to reveal the information you desire. In less direct ways of learning, online schooling and Zoom have improved the ability to learn even when isolated. This is especially notable during a pandemic.

Furthermore, speaking of communication during a pandemic, the ability to connect and speak with people around the world is more critical than ever. Either through a nice chat with your grandmother on the phone or dancing to your favorite artist’s new album, we connect with both people and their products daily. Only today in human history can two people on opposite sides of the world interact in a matter of seconds. Only today can ideas, trends, and popular culture spread at the rate they do.

Creators of Technology

While we reap the benefits of technology and take such for granted on a quotidian basis, we also frequently fail to acknowledge those who spend both their time and their professions focusing on technology. From information technology professions that work to keep companies, schools, and government technology organized and running to data engineers who design and develop programs and data for our computers. There are numerous other jobs and professions in technology that lack any type of recognition for the work they do, even if their work includes thousands of clients.

Perhaps one day people will begin to recognize and appreciate the work of technology specialists. Maybe one day everyone will understand how they all benefit from technology. Possibly one might realize how technology is everywhere and is present in almost everything in our world. Though until realization sweeps over the world, we can still use hashtags to promote technology and cute cat videos.

#TechnologyDay

Photo Credits

Image Credit: Pixabay

Sources

National Day Calendar
Device Ownership Worldwide
People are Spending Most of their Waking Hours Staring at Screens
What is Information Technology
Software Engineer Career