Weekend Musings - Technology: An Exponential Transformation

Based on popular vote across LinkedIn and Twitter, sharing my thoughts on technology this week.

Technology evolution for consumers has moved drastically in the millennium. While many of you will relate to my experiences with consumer electronics from my childhood days, many will also not. As a young boy, during early 80s, it used to be a regular affair to go up on the roof, adjusting the antenna for the television to start getting signal again so that we could resume watching our favorite show. While the choices were limited, however ranged from a “Krishi Darshan to “Chitrahar” to “Lucy Show”. Today, in the binge-watching era of OTT platforms and a plethora of content to choose from, we are far away from white noise and even buffering- something we all frequently encountered only a few years ago. Now we simply call up our internet service provider incase connectivity goes off.

That’s how much technology has transformed into a very small amount of time. From gathering around the TV with our families to digital devices being at the core of what we do day-in and day-out, especially with more than half the world practicing working from home, technology has begun to impact us in ways never imagined before. It is at the forefront of providing us with both, information, and entertainment. Even the board games we enjoyed have now shifted online, books to digital!

I feel that even though the cultural shift we have experienced plays an important role in this takeover by tech, a large part has also been played by the way technology has evolved over the years. The mediums to produce, transmit, and reproduce content has become much more sophisticated, bringing with them an ease of access and ease to create. For instance, the quality of cameras- be it the resolution, noise-reduction or, multiple facets of image capturing abilities- has tremendously increased. So has the opportunities to play with the content and modify it the way we like. Nowadays, professional training is no longer a pre-requisite for producing advanced looking media. It is with only the touch of a button and an imaginative mind that anyone can become a content creator.

Now, with our interactions with media rooted in digital, there is no need to strategize for digital transmission of these either. In only a decade, the speed and bandwidth of this are exceptional, and yet to improve with the much-awaited entry of 5G in India. This definitely makes for a far richer experience when it comes to consuming the data too. This of course is further augmented by the fact that the viewing platforms- be it the television, computers, or our smartphones- have remarkably improved what they offer in terms of the 4K picture quality, Ultra-HD display, HDRs, and higher refresh rates. Even we at Panasonic, have launched the Panasonic JZ2000 OLED TV at CES 2021, specially crafted keeping in mind all the gamers out there!

Talking about the CES 2021, the online event truly captured the essence of the place technology is heading, with all the cutting edge products launched by us and our various counterparts. I think we’re in for a big technological revolution coming towards us at the speed of light! And as excited as I am for it, I will never forget the days of the slow chatter of dinner conversations with the TV running in the background.