Lifestyle

Abstract

The widespread digitization of technologies, materials, and processes, and the constant use of the internet for communication and consumption, have led to dramatic changes in our lifestyle. We begin Chapter 12 with the internet and social media’s enabling people to better connect with family, friends, acquaintances, and communities. There can be more mutual awareness and closeness. Yet we may never be able to ‘unplug’; the line between work and play can become increasingly blurred. Having no down time is one manifestation of a broader corrosive phenomenon—technology or social media addiction. We shall see how a battle is being waged between those who want to engage us with more seductive user experiences, and those who would counsel a saner life in which technology and media play a more modest role. We then move from electronic communications to the physical world. We shall consider the effect of ubiquitous digital media, especially the so-called Internet of Things, in which almost all objects become digital. Such objects can sense people near them and general aspects of the world. They behave based on what they sense. One form of this is the rapid integration of voice assistants in everyday objects such as speakers and lamps. People can also transcend the real world by moving into virtual worlds, via augmented reality and virtual reality. The former allows the world to be enhanced with computer-generated visuals and sounds, while the latter allows immersion into worlds that are totally synthetic. We look at how people meet one another nowadays, and the increasingly important role of internet dating. For those who find intimacy or romance with people too challenging or insufficiently satisfying, and as robots become more and more lifelike, there are new opportunities for intimacy and for sexual satisfaction using sex robots, a development in which there are passionate advocates on both sides. How we do financial transactions is also changing. Cash is disappearing; money is becoming increasingly digital and intangible. Investors speculate in cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, which are implemented with an ingenious secure networked digital ledger known as blockchain.