IoT or Relations???

Knife when used for cutting vegetables is accepted by the society. But when the same knife is used to threaten a person it is treated as a crime. For an ordinary human, sentence one is true and sentence two is false. But sentence two is true in case of criminals. Yes, everyone has a different perception while viewing things. Someone happily pays a huge amount to buy an electronic product. On the other hand, someone might think it is wastage of money to pay more for an electronic product which they can purchase in less amount. However, it depends on how you perceive that object.

As every coin has two sides, same is with the growing technology. If it is in proper hands and is used up to certain limit then it can be considered as boon, else can be considered as curse. A lot of things have changed in past few years. People were much happier when smart phones were just used for emergency. Think: Has smart phones changed our life? Does smart phones influence us more than our loved ones? Is there a drift created between relations because of these smart phones?

Utilising any technology to a far extent is harmful. In the past few days, many incidences surprised and shocked me. Addiction towards the smart phones due to internet has increased to its peak. Few months back, I with my family went out for dinner in a classy restaurant. The sight amazed me! A couple was sitting beside our table and instead of chit chatting both were pretty busy in using their smart phones. What makes us use smart phone when we are out with our loved ones? Isn’t it a sad part? How many of us spend quality time with our loved ones than spending quantity time?

Definitely, creation of devices such as mobile phones, tablets, etc., have made our lives much easier. All features are available under one roof – camera, calculator, calling, texting, calendar, etc. Also, banking has become simpler using the phone application. Scanning of a document, booking a room in the hotel, flight check-in during travel has become easy due to use of internet. Is it the smart phone or the internet which is creating a barrier between relations?

This all is nothing but Internet of Things (IoT). All the above examples work on the principle of Internet of Things. The concept of Internet of Things is pretty easy to understand. For a common man, it can be best explained as ‘taking all the things and connecting it to the internet.’  Internet of Things plays a crucial rule in all the sectors. As water to humans, IoT is to all the sectors.

In case of hotel industry, IoT has a major role. It is used because the guests wants to interact with the hotel. The key benefit is to better serve the customers and also to increase the efficiency of its operations. To sight an example, IoT in hotel industry can be helpful to provide integrated services such as application driven devices and automatic triggers like light switches, door locks, etc. These facility will make guests feel luxurious and improve the in-house experience.

The hotel staff will be able to give best housekeeping as well as room service. Implementing IoT in hotel industry will enable owners to optimise concierge, front desk and room service. Use of sensors in the restaurant would help to track the order in real time. This would help the owners to maintain the quality control standard.

It is said that “Sharing is good, but with digital technology sharing is easy.” It is rightly said as IoT has changed the perception of human in many ways. The ease of use of facilities using internet has increased suddenly in past few years. Along with advantages, IoT has few disadvantages. Cyber-crime is one of the biggest disadvantage while using IoT. Cyber-crime becoming a threat to hotel industry, it is important for the owners to check every device and its security requirements.

Technology will keep on updating, innovations will take place, but at the end it is our not only the technology which matters. It is better to balance both – the time given to our people and the time given to the internet. No technology can replace in-person talks. A wide smile or a gentle hug has far more effect on a person than consoling them with emoji’s.

“I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction. The world will have generation of idiots.” – Albert Einstein

- Riya Hemant Gote

05.03.2019