Outdoor Activities Go Indoors

1. The Internet of things has dramatically changed the way we communicate, socialize, and source information. Perhaps the most notable change has been the way we interact with one another. Barely a decade ago, people preferred face-to-face communication. Kids frequented public parks, played in sand pits, and climbed on jungle gyms. Today, the Internet has upended convention and created a new paradigm. Adults and kids now communicate and interact with one another virtually. FaceTime, Skype, video conferencing, and social media has shifted communications and interactions from the outdoors to the inside of our homes. Virtual communication is cost-effective, instant and preferred by many people. Of course, online communication and physical interaction are not mutually exclusive. Rather, they should be viewed as complements for one another. Mobile apps make everything so much easier.

2. It is quicker to source gluten-free restaurants, kosher foods, plus size clothing outlets, directions, trading updates, and other data than ever before. All it takes is a quick & easy download and installation from the App Store or the Google Play Store, and a world of information is available at your fingertips. Mobile apps mean that more people are ordering in than eating out. This has significant cost and convenience benefits for consumers, since they don’t need to drive to restaurants, fight the traffic and wait to get served. Home delivery is available at the click of a button. This counters the negative effect of decreased face-to-face communication through the Internet of Things. Now, families get to eat at home together.

2. Snail mail has lost it shine as the preferred delivery option for missives. Email dramatically changed the way people communicate with one another, by making it quick, easy and instant to send a letter to a friend, family member, colleague, college, or corporation. With email, anyone can be reached 24/7 direct to their inbox. There are no costs involved in sending an email, other than the monthly Internet bill. Unlimited message transfers, attachments, documents, and data can be sent via email. Stats show that the volume of mail sent through postal services has steadily decreased year on year, owing largely to the Internet and email.
3. In the ‘Jurassic era’ before the Internet, people didn’t have Google Maps or MapQuest to find their way around. GPS was reserved for the military, and people had to rely on their spatial skills to understand where North was on a paper map. Today, nobody buys paper maps except perhaps for hikers and intrepid adventurers. We all rely on apps, virtual maps, global positioning systems, and smartphone technology to get us where we need to go. The Internet has made it much easier to navigate cross country, but there is always room for a physical compass and a paper map when the batteries die, or we hit a dead spot.
4. In the old days, we would store valuable information in boxes, files or folders in the attic. The Internet of Things allows us to store vital information in the cloud. Today, your online banking information, computer backups, personal and business files, pictures, documents and other sensitive information needn’t be stored on a removable disk drive, hard drive or CD – it can be stored in a virtual realm known as the cloud. This cloud exists in cyberspace, within the servers of massive corporations. Cloud computing technology is the way of the future, and it facilitates easy storage, sharing and security that is inaccessible to anyone other than the account holder.

2. Trading is now available to people, not only institutional brokers in their ivory towers. For many years, people would trade stocks, commodities, indices, and currency pairs through a broker at a land-based institution. Today, anyone can power up a smartphone, iPad, PC or Mac and trade assets at the click of a button. Mobile trading technology is highly sophisticated, allowing traders to access real-time information on asset prices, market movements, trends, and breaking news. The Internet allows for automated trades, trading bots, stop losses, and other innovative features designed to put traders in control of their financial portfolio.
3. Online gaming is now a multibillion dollar per year enterprise. Back in the day, people would sit around the table playing Clue, Monopoly, Snakes and Ladders, or Dungeons & Dragons. Today these games have gone virtual, and they have ramped up the action with multiplayer functionality, enticements (bonuses and promotional offers), competitive gaming, and high levels of immersion. This is true of skill-based games, and chance-based games. With virtual gaming, players get to enjoy being plugged into the matrix and enjoy all the benefits it offers.
4. The Internet has also redefined cool. In the 1980s, movies like Revenge of the Nerds highlighted the hardships that computer geeks were facing from the jocks. Today, it’s the geeks of the world who land the highest paying jobs, enjoy the jet-set lifestyle, and are super cool. Millennials are computer literate, tech savvy, and geared towards Silicon Valley jobs. Gone are the days when geeks and dorks were outcasts – today they run the world.