Hegemony, a word with roots in Ancient Greek entails the dominance of something over another after either a passive or active competition or some sort of validation.
Some countries are known to exhibit that dominance over other countries of the world in certain sectors, some dominate intellectually, some enjoy this due to their military prowess, others due to their economic development.
Today, one sector of human existence has placed the whole world under its hegemony though in varying degrees.
This means no matter where you are in the world you are under its hegemonic effect.
Do you think anything is capable of doing that? Well, technology has.
With more automation we see in the world, the farther technology spreads its dominance over us.
Technology plays a huge role in the world today. Initially, it started to help people become effective and efficient. Now, it’s almost like a second nature we can’t do without.
The world is under Tech Hegemony, this can be seen in our everyday life. Take, for example, most people regardless of gender, age, social standard, or location have access to smartphones that they use virtually round the clock.
That is the most basic form of Tech Hegemony in the world today. As we walk farther down towards automation there’s no doubt, the level of dependence on Tech will increase.
Today, there are several tech innovations, ranging from social media to automated cars, virtual assistants, smart houses, smartwatches, virtual reality, augmented reality, and blockchain technology.
Another area it has changed is communication, from faxing handwritten letters we have developed to the point where one can see what the other party is doing through video calls.
Entertainment both as an industry and as enjoyed by an individual has been revolutionized by technology, before now people hang out at a physical location with their loved ones simply enjoying each other’s company. Today watching Netflix and Chill is the “in thing”.
True, all these tech innovations have benefited society that is indisputable; however, we can also agree that it has its side effects. Due to the high rate of technology use, some people are losing their human touch according to some reports.
There’s even a risk of widespread impatience, anxiety, and forgetfulness more than we see now, if we continue at the pace we are currently on.
Now, trying to imagine life without the luxuries technology affords is almost impossible. Instead, everyone is scrambling to lay their hands on the latest technology to be the first to brandish the latest “cool toy”, either for business or personal use.
Coupled with the fact that most investors want to invest in a technologically inclined business, changes the game for businesses. It’s almost a digital form of the economic rat race.
Not to get the facts wrong, Technology has aided economic developments. It has contributed immensely to the
economic improvement some countries like China and Japan enjoy today.
A Possible Way Out
It has always been maintained that too much of everything is bad no matter how good that thing is, in other words, we need to strike a balance on our use of technology so we can reduce dependence on it thereby shedding its dominance over us.
Take out time to interact manually with people and the environment, once in a while leave your phone at home when going out. Excessive use of smartphones can alienate you from people around you.
Tech Hegemony can only remain if we let it. Technology should complement us not dominate.
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