Introduction

Digital technologies have reshaped almost every corner of daily life, and this chapter examines both sides of that transformation — the enormous convenience they bring, and the risks and responsibilities that come with them.

How digital technologies changed everyday life

Over the last few decades, the spread of digital technology has made ordinary tasks dramatically more convenient, faster and easier to manage. A useful way to feel the difference is to compare old and new communication:

• Earlier: a posted letter took days to arrive, each recipient received a separate physical copy, and each person had to reply individually.
• Now: a single email can be sent to many people at once and reaches them instantly, and replies come back just as quickly.

This instantaneous quality of electronic communication is what makes us more efficient and more productive than before.

Every sphere of activity now depends on it

The dependence on computers and digital technology is not limited to communication. Entire industries have reorganised themselves around it:

• Banking — transactions, records and services run on computer systems.
• Aviation — bookings, scheduling and operations are digitally managed.
• Industrial production — manufacturing is planned and controlled by computers.
• E-commerce — especially the delivery of goods and services, which is coordinated end-to-end through digital systems.

In short, applications of digital technology have redefined and evolved every sphere of human activity. Growing numbers of people now access these technologies through smartphones and computers connected to high-speed Internet.

Why did digital technology spread so widely?

The chapter poses this question directly, and the answer lies in three arrivals that carried the technology to the common person, in sequence:

1. The personal computer (PC) — computing left specialised institutions and entered homes and offices.
2. The Internet — individual machines became part of a globally connected network.
3. The smartphone — a connected computer moved into everyone's pocket.

Together these made digital technology cheap, portable and universally accessible.

The two-sided nature of the technology

While we enjoy the benefits of digital technologies, the same technologies can also be misused. That tension frames everything that follows in this chapter: the impact of these technologies on society, and the best practices that help ensure a productive and safe digital environment for everyone. The remaining sections take up, in turn: the digital footprint we leave online, the etiquette expected of a digital citizen, protection of data and intellectual property, cyber crime, the Indian IT Act, and the impact of prolonged device use on health.