The rapid growth in mobile technology in the recent decades has made the mobile industry to stand out and create a sudden and fundamental explosion in innovation and economic growth all over the world than any other industry has ever done in history leave alone the industrial revolution. Today, mobile technology is redesigning the economic landscape and has created a foundation in which both small and big industries are rooted and booming. It has emerged as a basic driver of economic growth in developed and developing countries together.
It has changed the way people live, learn, shop, work, socialize and even how people travel. With a stable growth in technology and low cost of mobile devices, mobile technology provides universal connectivity, uncountable applications, and services that impact almost every sector of life. The primary beneficiary of this steady growth is the user, who can now live easy and happily through access to various services and activities that were previously inaccessible.
Every step forward in mobile technology creates a new set of online digital services, which largely bring in economic and social impacts in education, health and even finance sector. Each day businesses, government, and consumers are learning new ways to utilize mobile technology and this has made mobile devices a basic commodity at this age and time.
With renowned mobile app development agencies working day and night to create new applications that will facilitate business growth, mobile technology has now become a core growth engine for SMEs. The technology has enabled innovative business models that allow SMEs all over the world to maintain a healthy competition with even multi-national companies.
Impact of Mobile Technology on the Social Sector
Almost half of the world’s population owns a mobile phone and even a bigger portion at least have access to one. In this era, communication has never been easier especially with the internet and the emergence of many social media platforms. We are always connected to our loved ones and millions of other people in all corners of the world. Irrespective of geographical distances, we can exchange messages, share information in form of pictures, audio, videos and text at a very low cost. Emerging AI Chatbot technology has indeed changed our lives drastically by creating a distinct relation b/w humans and technology.
This saves time and money as people always feel like they are living in a small world, where you can access the other at any given time. This connection and easy communication make it easy to get help in case of an emergency and important information like directions, news updates among others. Besides communication, there are also thousands of mobile apps which make people’s life simpler and interesting. For example, you can listen to music, read books, play games, create document files, and watch videos, take pictures and many other things using your mobile phone.
However, mobile technology also has some negative impact on social life in the sense that people are getting disconnected to the real world and embracing the virtual world created by mobile technologies. Human interaction has been minimized and even in social joints instead of talking to each other, people are always on their mobile devices; sharing pictures, sending messages and others just browsing. Mobile devices have become addictive and are slowly turning humans into robots. People prefer their own company and are always glued to their mobile devices.
Application of Mobile Technology in Tourism and Hospitality
In the past, you could see tourists carrying maps to guide them on the streets or make a thousand calls before booking a flight or a hotel room. Those days are long gone, and the tourism industry has taken a completely new shape with the help of mobile technology growth. There are thousands of mobile applications developed by companies that help tourists in planning their trips and during the trip.
Most of these applications are free, while others can be acquired at very small fees. Tourists can now book their flight tickets, submit hotel reviews or get important information about a city thanks to mobile applications. Other applications provide reviews of different hotels, attraction sites and restaurants that come in handy for travelers while planning for their holidays. Use of GPS and other tour guide apps has replaced the use of maps as tourists can navigate any city or site by the help of their mobile devices.
Travelers combine mobile technology with social media to share views, media files and updates about their favorite sites and places of interests. Tourists find it more convenient and effective to plan their holiday by use of such mobile applications. For hotels, mobile technology has enhanced their marketing and sales with clients booking rooms’ days before arrival and reservations being made by use of mobile apps.
Social media is one of the most effective ways of digital marketing; hotels have taken this advantage and use social media to promote their business and to attract more clients. Hotels are also able to get instant feedback from their clients, therefore, improve on any negative impressions.
Influence of Mobile Technology in Business
The impact of mobile technology in business is visible and is multi-faceted. Most businesses today have their success based on mobile technology. There are several businesses that have started and done well in the industry itself by providing products and services for mobile device users. When you think of a service, there is probably an app that you can use to access such a service.
Another sector that has been greatly influenced by mobile technology growth is sales and marketing. Business can now market their product on social media and reach to millions of people at no cost. Most online businesses have e-commerce sites or apps, which can be accessed via a mobile device to view products and make orders.
Once an order is processed, the consumer will receive a notification with details of delivery date and time. Consumers can also use an app to track their order or products on transit. This makes it easy as a buyer can buy goods from anywhere in the world at the comfort of their home seat through the help of online shopping mobile applications.
Mobile Banking and Money Transfer
Almost every bank in the world today has a mobile banking application through which customers can deposit, withdraw, view statement or transfer funds from one account to the other. This has eliminated the traditional long queues in banking halls and saved the customer time to do other productive stuff. It has also reduced the tendency of carrying a lot of liquid cash thus improving security.
The mobile money transfer has also come up where users can send and receive money through their mobile accounts, pay utility bills and buy goods and services via their mobile phones. This has made consumers and businesses to transact with ease even at different geographical locations.
Mobile Technology in Transport Industry
The transport industry also has experienced positive changes with the growth of mobile technology. Drivers and travelers can get real-time updates about traffic and the best route to use at any given time. With GPS, you can drive from one location to the other with ease and without fear of getting lost.
In most cities in the world today, you can request a taxi from your door step or whichever location you are in by using a mobile application. This eliminates the task of having to walk to a taxi waiting bay or waiting by the roadside for a taxi to pass by.
It is correct to say that the mobile technology industry is growing rapidly and has revolutionized how people work, live and play. It has impacted on almost all facets of life, yet it is still in its early stages. Much more impact is yet to be witnessed with researchers and innovative developers coming up with something new every single day.
Shahid Mansuri
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