Change

The other day I heard a startling statistic, al be it elaborated, which claimed that technology doubles every 18 months. 

Frightening.

It’s true that we have dealt with a lot of change in the last couple of decades, and I wonder whether there has been a generation that has had to put up with more progress.  I suppose there had been over the past century or two, but it’s hard to imagine. 

Do you remember a time before social media?  I can, and it wasn’t that long ago.  Remember your first smartphone and the three or so apps you needed to run your day?  Today, I’m updating apps on a daily basis and it’s ridiculously annoying.

Would you have believed 10 years ago that technology would enable us to get into a different stranger’s car (without a taxi sign on top) on a regular basis, to travel from A to B?  And would you have believed that we would almost solely rely on strangers’ reviews of restaurants and accommodation and tourist sights?  It’s almost as though they really are not strangers anymore, but a different type of semi-acquaintances.    

In any case, it seems that it’s not just general technology which is doubling, but the pressure to change, to keep up, on us, on industries.  

How many physical bookstores can you walk into these days?  We’re now purchasing books with one click and reading it as soon as it’s downloaded on a device.  

I’m starting (perhaps not persisting with) a new big budget television show almost every month, delivered to a smart television via the internet, for a relatively small monthly subscription fee.

So, what will the world look like in 18 months’ time?  Who’s to say. 

What does ‘double’ of ‘frightening’ look like?