Technology Really Can Make Life Better

A lot of people believe that the best way to improve their lives is to make them simpler. There is some truth to this–the fewer complications you have distracting you, the better your life can be. Where a lot of people get screwed up, though, is with their definitions of “simple.” For some reason, most people equate “simple” with “quaint” or “old fashioned” or “traditional.”

For example, to lead a simpler life, they think they should get rid of all of their gadgets and technological advances. While nobody is doubting that regular old butter is way better than most of the newfangled varieties (have you tasted the easy-spread varieties lately?), in many respects technology enhances our lives and actually helps make our lives simpler, not more complicated. The internet: it’s a good thing.

Here are a few examples of the ways in which technology and “living in the future” actually helps simplify your life.

The eReader

Yes, there is something wonderful about the tactile experience of reading a book. But you know what? Sometimes books are heavy. They take up a lot of space in our bags and in our homes. eReaders allow you immediate access to literally thousands of books at any given moment.

No digging through old crates in the basement trying to find the book you loved in college. No more sacrificing valuable carry on luggage space to the four books you think you might want to read. No more having to make time to go looking for the book you want only to find out that the store is out of stock.

Cable Packages

I grew up in a rural area where we had to have cable to get any television at all (hooray for life in a valley) and the largest cable packages we could get only offered a dozen channels.

If we wanted to watch TV in more than one room we had to pay extra and even after paying for the privilege of being able to watch different shows in different rooms, the more sets that accessed the feed, the worse the picture and sound quality got for everyone. Those days are over.

These days you can get satellite, direct and cable TV packages that will satisfy everyone in your family for a fraction of what we paid when I was a kid.

According to satellite-tv-deals.com, a family can get literally hundreds of channels, all accessible via a variety of devices for less than a hundred bucks. How much simpler will life be when nobody is fighting over what to watch or who gets to watch TV when?

Smart Devices

The benefit of a smartphone is obvious. Who hasn’t appreciated the ability to take a picture of the grocery store’s mustard selection, text the picture to their spouse and ask “which one do you want me to get?”and be able to get a reply in seconds? It sure beats guessing and potentially wasting money.

Smartphones aren’t the only smart devices worth their expenditure. My current favorite smart device, believe it or not, is our smart refrigerator.

The fridge keeps track of the groceries inside, their expiration dates, etc. If, for example, someone finishes the milk while I’m out of the house, my phone gets a message telling me I need to grab more at the store on my way home. I don’t have to worry about accidentally eating spoiled sour cream.

Syncing

Syncing isn’t just for playlists. It’s also for calendars, checklists, projects, and pretty much anything else you can think of. Syncing allows you to enter an appointment into your calendar on your laptop and then have that event added to the calendars on your family’s array of phones, tablets, laptops, etc. No more having to remember to check a paper calendar before leaving the house!

Money Management

When was the last time you bounced a check? Heck, when was the last time you even wrote a check? These days, thanks to debit cards and money management apps, you can pay for anything anywhere and at any time, without having to worry about whether or not your spouse decided to charge something that day too.

More importantly, if you have your phone, thanks to systems like Apple Pay, you don’t even need your wallet or cards with you to make purchases. It’s kind of scary, but it’s made life much simpler.

If you look at how we live today compared to how we lived even ten years ago, life has gotten much simpler and streamlined. These are just a few of the small reasons that is true. What are some of the ways technology has improved your life?