Devices controlled by apps on rise

Gurvinder Singh

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, March 28

Major players of the electronics industry are launching software-enabled products to facilitate consumers to monitor and control objects remotely on their mobile phones.

Recently, a smartphone-controlled air conditioner was launched in the city. It can be monitored and controlled by downloading a mobile app and connecting the product to it. Not just air conditioners, gadgets—from washing machines to smart refrigerators to bathroom scales to bulbs—that operate through the Internet are on the rise in homes.

 “We were amazed with the functioning a remote control when it was launched in the country in the 1990s. Time has changed and now, controlling household devices through mobile phones (wirelessly) is a popular use of the technology, said  Sahil, a resident of Civil Lines.

Cellphones are now coming with a feature that enables “casting” or “mirroring” of these screens wirelessly onto television screens and monitors.  “I received many videos on my social media accounts, some of them I shared with my family by connecting my phone with a smart TV. Cellphones have become an essential part of our lives,” he said.

But experts warned that dependence on a device and technology could be detrimental to “one’s social-emotional development”. “The society is becoming too dependent on technology. The increasing use of phones and other devices and use of interactive screen time is affecting our personal lives,” says Dr Ravinder Kala, a city-based psychologist.

Though it may seem that sharing videos and content on the big screen is part of socialisation, it is killing the natural way of communication. “For a short time, it can become fun, but as a lifestyle, it can actually be an energy-sapping tool,” she says.

“The excessive use of technology has overcrowded our mind with all sort of information and it can lead to isolation, stress, choking of the memory,” she said.

A research has shown happiness depends on social connections and socialisation, gratitude, compassion, and empathy. We need to reconnect with ourselves, so that when it comes to personal and psychological well-being, we need to redeem from this technology-driven frenzy, she said.