Week 1: How New Technologies are Shaping Life in America and the World

This week begun our 8-week long venture in exploring how the rapid increase of accessible technology is shaping our lives both here in America as well as on a global level. As a supplement to our weekly lecture and discussion we were asked to read Donner's, Blurring Livelihoods and Lives: The Social Uses of Mobile Phones and Socioeconomic Development. Throughout, Donner explores the notion that the increase use of technology has led to a blurring of livelihoods and lives; for example, we use our cell phones for personal calls during work. Even further, it is also now difficult to differentiate an economic call from a personal one, as close clients often delve into discussing personal matters, which help build relationships that could later lead to better economic transactions.

In America, the ever-evolving and adaptability of technology is apparent. In the last week, missing Indiana University student, Lauren Spierer has been making headlines across the nation: both in newspapers, news broadcasts, and now on Facebook and Twitter. Friends and strangers alike have been creating Facebook events, changing their profile pictures and updating their Twitters in honor of Lauren in an attempt to try to spread the word about her disappearance, and due to such passionate efforts the news of Spierer's disappearance has become global. With a few clicks of a button, technology allows an individual to connect and share with hundreds (sometimes even thousands) of other people and in essence "makes the world smaller." This appears to be one of the first time where these social media networks have been used in such large numbers to help spread attention about a missing person and portrays the plethora of possibility and power that social media (an extension of technology) sites can offer.

Today, Mobiles for Development continues to face numerous challenges one of which is assessing the impact of mobile phones in advancing countries economically. Part of this challenge lies in the fact that the program remains in it's early stages, and there continues to be work done on collecting research on how mobile phones impact economic ventures. However, mobile phones allow micro-coordination which allows consumers and producers to interact more productively and quickly; the issue of distance and location is diminished. There continues to be a concern that mobile phones may lead to inefficient use of time as phones are used for social calls and other activities not directly related with economic activity. Thus, the question of quality of life emerges; is it really possible to measure quality of life of an individual merely by economic activity or can mobile phones increase quality of life in other manners? The adaptability of technology should never be underestimated. As in the example of spreading the word of Lauren Spierer's disappearance, technology can be used in many different ways. By expanding the mobile market to developing parts of the world, these phones could not only assist in economically improving the lives of these individuals, but also could potentially extend to improving social and family relationships, increased safety and security.