The internet has drastically evolved throughout the last decade but the improvement doesn’t stop there. As we exist in the digital era, we will live to see incredible technologies that people could’ve only dreamed about in the past. Social media has developed to the point that it’s not only a means of entertainment but an important asset in business and working environments.
Thus, the use of social media in both personal and professional aspect of life is inevitable. As new studies and experiments are being held regularly, we are heading towards an even more improved digital age. So, let’s see what’s in store for us in the near future in terms of technologies improving our lives and social media experiences.
Radio Frequency Identification Tags
RFID tags, for short, are tiny microchips installed into our IDE cards, passports and similar documents and used for identifying us when scanned. These types of transponders are already in use; however, they are going to become a part of not only our ID documents but everything around us. Since these tags are micro sized and fairly cheap to produce, they are likely going to be put in items we purchase, from food packaging to clothing. Why would people invest into doing such a thing, you may ask? The answer is gathering consumption data from customers of brands from all over the world. The brands use that data to find ways to improve within their business and these tags can make the data collecting process much easier for them. Imagine each piece of food packaging having a RFID tag and a trash bag in the can having another receptive kind of tag that would track and identify everything that is thrown in the trash. The companies would be able to track consumption data from every single home. These tags might be used in tons of similar ways, such as scanning a product to see who from your social media platforms has recently purchased it. However, privacy sets many limitations to these ideas and we have yet to see how things will play out with them.
Biometric Face Recognition
The biometric face recognition technology will allow us to scan the local bar or a store and get information and profiles on everyone inside. The advanced program uses face recognition to attach metadata to real people and give you their social media profile in an instant. This technology is already being used by the police in some areas for capturing known criminals. However, as the technology advances, it will become available to everyday smartphone users, which will open up opportunities to get to know people quickly. The downside of this is also the abuse of privacy that will take place.
Mind Reading
Possibly the coolest feature that is going to make social media and internet use that much better is mind reading and control. With this super advanced technology, people are going to be able to control their smartphones with their minds. This invention is already seeing some progress through different studies and we are likely to experience this awesome improvement in the years to come. Imagine being able to think something and have your phone do it for you. You could be texting a friend or tweeting by just thinking about it and not even using your motor skills. This idea was at first meant to be a solution for people with disabled motor controls and it was supposed to be a way to enable them to use smartphones like everybody else. However, the idea has grown so much that is being considered for everyday use.
Augmented Reality
Augmented reality is a form of combining the virtual with the real world, meaning we could include the real world into our smartphone apps and programs. An example of this concept is the recently released game, PokemonGo. Besides gaming, this great technology can be used to improve social media optimization, serve as an asset in online marketing and improve the overall user-experience with technology. As this concept is already in use, we can expect it to grow to great proportions and surprise us with new features very soon.
Virtual Reality
Slightly differing from the augmented reality, virtual reality is also already taking place in the world. Thanks to this technology, the users can emerge into the virtual world and experience it first-hand, as if they were really inside of it. This concept is also most used for gaming at this moment but at the rate it is developing, it will most likely turn into something big that is going to help us use social media and the internet effortlessly.
Artificial Assistants
An impressive feature of modern smartphones are the artificial assistants that come with them. For iOS, it is Siri while for Android, the artificial Assistant is called Cortana. These forms of artificial intelligence are already improving our use of social media, as we can control our phones by giving audio commands. Besides controlling different features, you can have a chat with the AI robot within your smartphone. This technology is becoming more and more advanced as studies are being conducted and we can expect it to be on a whole other level within the next few years.
Motion sensors
Last but not least, motion sensors are a concept that is destined to develop into an outstanding technology with features such as automating lighting and heating in homes, as well as controlling autonomous vehicles. Controlling home appliances is already possible, thanks to the companies who integrate WIFI network abilities into their products. However, motion sensors will allow us to make an even greater use of our appliances and integrate them into our use of the Internet and social media.
With these seven advancing technologies, we are soon to witness a world where artificial intelligence and virtual reality take over. It is exciting to think about all the possibilities with technologies such as mind reading and biometric face recognition. All that’s left to do is wait for them to be developed and released!
