The value of time in a connected world allows for new opportunities
Have you ever thought about the amount of time it would take to queue at the bank to check your bank balance? What about going to the Post Office every time you wanted to mail a letter?
These are all mundane and boring tasks, which at some point had to be done in person. Thankfully, using technology, we can avoid congested malls, snaking long queues, or time wasted while paging through recipe books to find that special recipe.
Technology has saved us crucial time by creating extraordinary experiences in the comfort of our homes. It’s given us more time to enjoy the things we value – considerably benefitting individuals, societies and economies.
How society has embraced connectedness
For South Africans, technology’s ability to connect us to our day, and our jobs, is no longer a luxury. A targeted Vuma online survey conducted in 2020 found that 75.2% of respondents spend more than eight hours of their day online, with 58.2% of respondents using their connectivity for business, or for working from home.
The ability to stay connected has been especially beneficial for South Africans during the various levels of risk-adjusted nationwide lockdown, where most of the country’s workers had no choice but to embrace working remotely, while students have been expected to keep up with their studies from home. That means relying on internet connectivity to perform at work, connect with colleagues, and prepare for exams.
Data from Digital 2020 shows the magnitude of the role that the internet plays in our lives. The world's internet users spend an average of six hours and 43 minutes online each day – and this is not time wasted.
For instance, over in the UK, a poll of 2 000 adults found that the average British person saves two weeks each year that would otherwise be spent on tasks like shopping and banking, thanks to technology and connectivity. The survey found that the ability to perform these tasks online was effectively saving people around six-and-a-half hours each week.
Considering how much we now rely on the internet for work and play, having an average-speed connection is no longer enough. For our workdays and social lives to run smoothly, we require high-speed connectivity.
Living and working in today’s connected world
There’s a reason why people despise the era of dial-up connectivity, and it isn’t solely because of the hair-raising “urrrs” and “eeeees”. It’s because that connectivity wasn’t fast enough for people in real-time, to the vast benefits of the digital world, because so much time was spent ‘hurrying up and waiting’ for the connection to be made, never mind be stable. While technology has saved people a substantial amount of time, unlimited, lightning-fast fibre connectivity is modifying and shaping the way we live and work.
It’s hard to imagine a world without the benefits of high definition streaming, the ability to hold a Teams or Zoom meeting without losing signal, or communicating with loved ones in an instant.
That's because these aren't just connections to the things people love, they’re opportunities to empower ordinary people to be extraordinary and strengthen the connections that matter between people, communities and relationships.