It is not news that technology has changed the way that live, but the integration of technology into our everyday lives has happened almost seamlessly to the point where we are accepting a change in ritual without thinking for a moment about what has changed. This technology has made our lives easier and quicker meaning that we have more time for other things. In reality, we have just spent the time binging Netflix shows, which is a perfectly acceptable thing to do. Here are some subtle technological changes that may have influenced the way you spend your day:

1. Measuring Stuff

If you are an Apple user, you may not have even noticed that with your last update there was an app included which allows you to measure any surface. This neat little piece of technology allows a user to hold up their phone to an object using the camera, and measure the length and depth of the picture using augmented reality technology. It could be pretty useful for double checking measurements before you buy that huge piece of flatpack furniture from Ikea, and it also has a built in spirit level so you won’t end up with a wall of wonky photographs. That’s assuming you still get yours developed.

2. Gaming

There are the obvious technological advances in gaming such as higher quality animation, virtual reality and quicker processing, however gaming is becoming ever more environmentally friendly. Online gaming has reduced the amount of waste created by disks and games such as bingo or instant-win scratch cards are no longer using thousands of trees. There are now scratch cards that you can open on your computer and win instantly. Some games even offer bonuses from time to time, so it is worth checking back often. Remember when you used to queue outside at midnight for the latest game? Those are seemingly bygone days of nostalgia. At the release of this year’s Red Dead Redemption II, sales records were broken, with many players choosing a download of the game rather than a physical copy.

3. All-Consuming News

The way in which we are consuming news is also helping the environment, with less paper being printed, but it might not be helping our sleep. A 24-hour news cycle makes it easy to stay in touch with news around the globe, and we’re not getting it from traditional news outlets with 43% of Americans admitting that they get most of their news online rather from traditional news outlets. Social media has made it easier for us to follow what we care about without having to sift through the bits which don’t concern us, theoretically making it easier to follow the news, but also allowing shady sources to influence the public.

Technology Drives The Future

Advancements in technology are literally changing the way in which we live. Healthcare and transport are receiving vital upgrades and our day-to-day lives are being improved by household AI such as Amazon’s Alexa. We may not realize it now, because we care for nostalgia a little too much, but technology is taking over and we’re richer for it.