Assignment 2 part 1

1. Karan Dhar
THE IMPACT
OF
TECHNOLOGY

2. The impact of technology on people has been nothing short of transformative, ushering in new eras of
change and innovation. From the introduction of the internet as a method of transferring data between
U.S. government computers to the development of artificial intelligence, technology has continually
shaped and reshaped the way we live, work, and interact with the world. With each technological
advancement, we have witnessed both remarkable benefits and significant challenges. The accelerating
pace of technological change has not only revolutionized industries and economies but has also
fundamentally altered the way we communicate, access information, and even define our identities.
Figure 1: Computing and data processing in 1953, National Research
Development Corporation, 2023
INTRODUCTION

3. ➤ From the arrival of the “World Wide Web” in 1994, most
people started to use the internet via slow “dial up”
connections. Internet companies such as Google, Napster and
ICQ began to launch in the late 90’s (Sheppard, F. 2014)
As dial-up connections ran at a painfully slow 56 kbps
(Beckett, M. 2023), broadband technologies, such as DSL,
cable and fibre-optic internet were introduced in the 2000’s.
This helped speed up internet browsing and file downloads.
The 2000’s also saw the birth of 3G and smartphones,
allowing easier internet access for people from anywhere.
These wireless networks eventually sped up to 4G and now
5G.
➤
➤
ACCESS TO THE INTERNET

4. ➤ The 2010’s saw the internet become essential to everyday life,
an example being the takeover of streaming sites (Netflix,
Amazon Prime Video) over traditional DVD’s and video
players. By 2015, there was an average of 3.47 connected
devices per person on the planet (Cisco IBSG, 2011).
The internet now has a huge variety of networks, serving
entertainment, private, public and academic purposes,
amongst others. This allows the global exchange of data
between more than 4.95 billion internet users worldwide
(Data Reportal, 2022) and technologies such as AI are
allowing our devices to become better networked.
➤
ACCESS TO THE INTERNET

5. Figure 2: Changes to internet access since 2003 (Evans, D. 2011)
CHANGES TO THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE ACCESSING THE
INTERNET

6. ➤ As per Petrosyan, Ani (2023), around 95.8% of global users accessed the
internet via mobile phones and nearly 55% going online via a laptop/desktop
device. Other examples of devices include wearable devices (e.g. Apple Watch),
tablets and gaming consoles (PlayStation).
Figure 3: Share of users worldwide accessing the internet in 2nd quarter
2023, by device (Petrosyan, A. 2023)
DIGITAL DEVICES USED BY NEW YORK

7. ➤ Information can be found via searches on search engines (Google),
social media (Facebook/TikTok) or even mobile applications (A.I./
News apps).
According to Iskiev, M (2023), 15% of consumers prefer to search on
social media over search engines and 54% of consumers primarily
use their mobile phones to search.
Content recommended for people can come up on their social media
accounts, personalised based on information collected that is relevant
to them and influenced by things such as previous searches on those
pages.
AI chatbots (such as ChatGPT) are used by 12% of the population,
which highlights how technologies are emerging to make searching
for information even easier.
➤
➤
➤
HOW CONSUMERS SEARCH FOR INFORMATION

8. Figure 4: Various methods of online search (Iskiev, M. 2023)
HOW CONSUMERS SEARCH ONLINE

9. ➤ The internet’s evolution has allowed for online purchasing for almost
any product or service possible, some examples include streaming,
homeware shopping, retail, health & beauty and even food/beverages.
According to Chavda, S (2023), Australia’s online shopping industry
is worth over $47 billion dollars, with the market size having grown
by 8.9% in 2022 itself.
Chavda states that homeware/appliances saw the highest expenditure
at 23.8%, followed by department stores at 16.3$ and suspringly,
takeaway food had the lowest share of online spending at 5.9%.
This exemplifies the multiple possibilities for online retailers to
achieve a high sales revenue and the importance of building a loyal
customer base. Methods such as appealing digital marketing or
shopping incentives would help with customer retention.
➤
➤
➤
WHAT DO CONSUMERS BUY ONLINE

10. ➤ More than ever, video content is now more crucial than ever before. Hayes, M
(2023) states that 91% of businesses use video as a marketing tool more than ever
before.
Douglass, L (2023) states that video content makes up over 82% of all internet
traffic, with paid streaming services such as Disney+ and YouTube taking up a
huge part. According to her survey, Instagram saw a video viewership increase of
over 23%.
A report by Deloitte Insights highlights that consumers now pay for an average of
4 streaming services, with 24% of those people adding a new streaming service
just for specific content.
The COVID-19 pandemic also reshaped and increased consumption significantly,
despite impacting the ability to create new videos.
Apps such as TikTok (created for short videos) as a prime example of the
exponential growth of video consumption, which already has over 1 billion active
users since it’s launch in 2017.
➤
➤
➤
➤
ONLINE VIDEO CONSUMPTION

11. Figure 5: Changes in paid video streaming services in a Deloitte
survey (Westcott, K. et al. (2022)).
CHANGES IN THE AMOUNT OF VIDEO CONTENT CONSUMED

12. ➤ The use of smartphones has continued to grow tremendously
for a huge variety of tasks.
Thanks to COVID-19, remote work has allowed for increased
usage of video conferencing tools and cloud platforms.
Streaming services have continued to become more dominant
over traditional cable TV.
Social media evolution has continued to evolve, with short-
form video content taking a huge popularity jump.
Artificial Intelligence technology has continued to be
integrated with various consumer products, improving
personalisation and efficiency.
➤
➤
➤
➤
CONSUMER TRENDS OVER THE PAST 3-5 YEARS

13. Our reliance on technology has dramatically increased in the
recent decades, which has helped improve the standard of
living and provide convenience to consumers. From the way
we communicate and entertain ourselves to how we work,
consumer’s lives are now more connected than ever.
Companies have been creating new trends, softwares and
applications, with the huge growth in the world population
accessing the internet proving the success of technological
innovations.
SUMMARY

14. 1. Sheppard, F. (2014). The internet over the past 20 years. ABC News. [online] 25 May.
Available at: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-05-25/internet-changes-over-20-
years/5470442. [Accessed 4 Nov 2023]
2. Beckett, M. (2023). The history of broadband from the ’80s to today. [online] Uswitch.
Available at: https://www.uswitch.com/broadband/guides/broadband-history/.
[Accessed 4 Nov 2023]
3. Kemp, S. (2021). DataReportal. Global Digital Insights. Future Trends 2022: The Evolution of
Search. [Online] Available at: https://datareportal.com/reports/future-trends-2022-
evolving-search-behaviours [Accessed 12 Nov 2023]
4. Fig. 1. National Research Development Corporation (2023), [online] available at:
https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/objects/co62354, [Accessed 4/11/23]
5. Fig. 2. Evans, D. (2011) The Internet of Things, https://www.cisco.com/c/dam/en_us/about/
ac79/docs/innov/IoT_IBSG_0411FINAL.pdf. Cisco Internet Business Solutions Group
(IBSG). https://www.cisco.com/c/dam/en_us/about/ac79/docs/innov/
IoT_IBSG_0411FINAL.pdf (Accessed: November 12, 2023).
REFERENCES

15. 6. Figure 3: Petrosyan, A.(2023) Global internet access Q2 2023, by device. https://
www.statista.com/statistics/1289755/internet-access-by-device-worldwide/ (Accessed:
November 12, 2023).
7. Iskiev, M. (2023) 'The Way People Search the Web is Changing: 4 Stats Marketers &
SEOs Should Know [HubSpot Data],' HubSpot, 21 August. https://blog.hubspot.com/
marketing/how-search-behaviors-are-changing [Accessed: November 12, 2023]
8. Figure 4: Iskiev, M. (2023) 'The Way People Search the Web is Changing: 4 Stats
Marketers & SEOs Should Know [HubSpot Data],' HubSpot, 21 August. https://
blog.hubspot.com/marketing/how-search-behaviors-are-changing [Accessed: November
12, 2023]
9. Chavda, S. (2023) 'Australia’s Online Shopping Behaviour Report – 2022,' Savvy, 10
August. https://www.savvy.com.au/australias-online-shopping-behaviour-report-2022/
[Accessed: November 12, 2023]
10. Hayes, A. (2023) 'What Video Marketers Should Know in 2023, According to Wyzowl
Research,' Hubspot, 6 February. https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/state-of-video-
marketing-new-data?hubs_content=blog.hubspot.com. [Accessed 12 Nov 2023]
REFERENCES

16. 10. Douglass, L. (2023) How video consumption has evolved and
changed the digital landscape. https://channelfactory.com/how-
video-consumption-has-evolved-and-changed-the-digital-
landscape/ [Accessed: November 12, 2023]
11. Figure 5: Westcott, K. et al. (2022) Digital media trends, 15th
edition. https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/industry/
technology/digital-media-trends-consumption-habits-survey/
summary-2021.html?icid=learn_more_content_click.
REFERENCES