Tech trends of the decade

The tech landscape defined the past decade — here are the major ways it drastically changed our lives.

What will be the next technological advancement for new decade?


The tech landscape has drastically changed in the past decade. Here are the top trends that defined it. The iPad, Uber, Instagram, Tinder, Alexa —all this ubiquitous tech was launched in the past decade.


Smartphones


Over the last decade smartphones have transcended their primary function and turned into a tiny computer, fundamentally used to interface with an increasingly cloud-based internet. Beyond voice calls and text communications, smartphones now offer everything from photography, maps, music and transportation, to banking, shopping and food delivery.


Voice assistants


From limited uses in just a few outlets, voice assistants are now integrating into every part of people’s lives. With ubiquity comes heightened scrutiny. The last year has seen heated debates over privacy with regard to voice assistants and issues of security and safety are not going to fade away.


Being online 24/7


As smartphones and other mobile devices have become more widespread, 28% of American adults now report that they go online “almost constantly,” up from 21% in 2015, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted Jan. 8 to Feb. 7, 2019.


Political influence


The American media system has undergone significant transformations since the advent of new media in the late 1980s. During the past decade, social media have become powerful political tools in campaigns and governing as more people turn to digital sources and abandon television news.


Dating


Couples used to meet in real life, but now more and more people are “matching” online. While online dating was once considered taboo, the number of couples meeting online has more than doubled in the last decade to about 1-in-5 according to The Visual Capitalist.


Distrust of tech


The label “Big Tech” has stuck as people have come to increasingly distrust and resent the power and influence of these large, successful tech companies. And the cultural resonance between “Big Tobacco” and “Big Tech,” as purveyors of something enjoyable but addictive and unhealthy, shouldn’t be underestimated.


The digital divide


As ownership of mobile phones, especially smartphones, spreads rapidly across the globe, there are still notable numbers of people in emerging economies who do not own a mobile phone, or who share one with others.


Tech's future


These technologies, alone or in combination with robotics, exoskeletons, and flexible, implantable, electronics also make possible a future of human augmentation and the next technological frontier.


Brut.


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Brut.