The Apple Effect

Since becoming a parent back in 2007, I have begun to notice patterns in our world.  Much of this over-analyzing stems from my exposure to “Be,” a very insightful album by Swedish progressive metal band “Pain of Salvation.”  I learned to begin looking at life at a global level, in doing so with my family as an influence, I began to notice the effect technologies have on us.

I remember my youth as toy oriented and not so much technology intensive.  Of course that might not have been the case for the rest of the world, but at that time, most technology was super expensive and not consumer focused.  I recall the TV being the headliner in the home when technology was talked about.  As I grew older, I began to see computers more and more invade the everyday life from school to work.  I remember building my first 386 PC and slowly upgrading it as hand-me-down parts were procured via tedious chores.  As the computers evolved, so did I.  Or so I thought.

Today, we are surrounded by digital devices; everything from HD TV’s to laptops and cell phones.  Information has been digitized and stored on server farms that fill warehouses; and all of their content is readily available for reference and streaming to your device of choice.  Of course, these devices have naturally fallen in price and become obtainable to all classes of people.  So much so, that its synonymous with being a human.  You should have a cell phone right?  Why not two?  One for work and one for personal use?  And a home pc or laptop?  Oh and don’t forget the big LCD or plasma TV occupying 80% of one of your living room walls.  Teenagers basically believe it’s a birth right to own one if not all of these devices and the expensive data plans that accompany them.

So where does Apple come into play?  In simplicity.  In user interaction.  The iPhone really brought us more than just a super high-end class of cellular communication.  It has paved the way we will forever interact with computers across the board.  Yes, it has changed the industry, but more importantly, it has changed us.  It has brought us closer to technology and information like nothing else previously could.  With the introduction of the iPhone came a plethora of new devices all striving to deliver content in new and interesting ways.  Everything from maps to movies, eBay to iTunes, content has never been closer to our fingers than in these days.  The introduction of the iPad will likely bring even more content to our fingers in new and richer ways.  It’s going to start with iBooks as you already know, but developers out there will surely find new ways to envelop you with new digital worlds.  Apple’s ability to innovate lifestyle devices and market them in such an infectious way, reinforces the notion that many more people will have the opportunity to experience these new worlds.  In the end of time, I think the most significant contribution Apple will have brought us as a human race, is the way we will connect with information and people.  If you want to check up on a friend, you can simply touch their profile on a social network site and can be updated nearly in an instant from most places in the world.  It’s so easy and natural to use their products, and that makes it incredibly compelling to own one.

One day, I noticed my daughter holding my phone and to my surprise, she was navigating the whole UI.  She’s only two years old and operating a device like this!  She could unlock the phone, swipe across the homescreens until she found a game she had played before, launch it, and begin to play – without supervision.  I was shocked, not just because it was cute and such, but because she was able to think on the same level as we do.  Then it clicked.  Everything began to hit me at once.

In a parallel with my past, this was going to be the beginning for her experience with computers.  The standard for all things to follow, not just in complexity, but in behavior and interaction.  The line between human touch and digital life will forever blur and progress to new worlds which we can’t yet comprehend.  It was impossible for any of us, at the time when I was her age, to imagine that we would be able to touch a screen and have it respond in the manner that the various Apple products have made possible.  No one can imagine the reality she and the rest of our children will live in.  It simply is impossible to determine.  Yet, we will create it.  We will have built the foundation on which the transparent wall separating humans and data will be built – and ultimately removed entirely.