The digital transformation has already changed human civilization as we are welcoming the era of digitalization that affected almost all sectors of human needs and conditions. Decades ago, we relied on human-centered products and services that involved more human power over their progress. The first industrial revolution already shaped the 19th and 20th centuries with the rise of mechanical — mostly steam and coal-powered — engines to boost production. The next century comes with more shine and bright era to enhance the industry and better life quality for the workers, thanks to electricity. Now we encounter the next step of human civilization, the digital one. There is no doubt that in these recent years, technology becomes more advanced rapidly rather than 10 years ago. Transforming people’s behavior in almost all of their daily activities. Changing along with the growth of internet accessibility and connection speed improvisation.
This digital transformation can ease us to reach our needs in the blink of an eye. Buying goods directly from your favorite e-commerce instead of coming to the physical store. Find cab drivers easier on an online transportation app or meeting with clients and business colleagues on an online video call. The internet and digital things have been absorbed into all walks of life. We are no longer distressed with the hurdle that complicates our activities anymore.
The society we were living in is absolutely changed too. Gadgets such as smartphones and laptops had a big role in how society changed. Honestly, we almost spend hours of the day staring into our gadget screens like our eyes have been glued to them. No matter what the purpose was. The internet connection also brings businesses, companies, and industries to compete over the digital world. Technology improvement gave them the advantage to expand their goals even in an unexpected way. Brings more monger and competition in a way more different levels. The digitalized society undoubtedly had its own advantage and disadvantage for human civilization. Don’t be hesitant or feared by this alteration. We need to survive and live through it, with the right strategy to utilize this technology advancement benefit.
- Behavioral adaptation
First thing first, look at your surrounding. Then ask yourself about what literally changed around you. Do you figure that the way we are living now is much different from 10 years ago? Your tv screen is now probably showing a live music concert held on a different side of this planet, which is impossible to do 15 years ago. But now, you can enjoy it from the living room with just an internet connection. Did you felt hungry but too lazy to cook? Just grab your smartphone and order a pizza from uber eat while enjoying the online concert. This convenience is one of the digitalization effects that shaped our behavior. We slowly took advantage of digital convenience to reach our needs. As our surroundings changed, we also need to catch-up with them. We may not notice the changes that happen rapidly around us, but we can adapt to them over time. Imagine in the upcoming years all sellers and merchants already switched into digital money for the payment method. But you didn’t even know how to use digital payments. The result? you will have struggled with your daily needs because you can’t pay them. Change your behavior if it is really needed, and you may be fitted with the society you live in.
- Build your digital ecosystem
The digital ecosystem is interconnected digital tools that support each other and function as a unit. It consists of various tools that can be utilized to improve productivity. You can start to build the ecosystem by matching the gadgets and devices used daily. Apple and Xiaomi already implemented the digital ecosystem into their products for individual uses. If you were an Apple user, you might be using iPhone as the daily driver smartphone beside Mac as the work driver laptop. These two devices will help you experience easier connectivity between them, thanks to the integrated operating system. Better connectivity means better productivity. Xiaomi also implemented it on their MI ecosystem. From phones, laptops, watches, and many miscellaneous accessories that supported the Xiaomi operating system. These integrated devices could make a smart home where the user who lived there experienced fully digitalized surroundings. This kind of personal digital ecosystem could boost productivity as long the connected tools supported each other.
For companies and businesses, the digital ecosystem seems a little bit complicated. The integrated tools have a bigger scale to be implemented. It covers the whole system to create a fully interconnected ecosystem. It provides the right devices and provides the strategy, the products, and human sources that fit and can handle the system. The concept of a digital ecosystem is relatively new and still needs to be seen from various perspectives. The components that construct the ecosystem also need to be reviewed to create a functional yet integrated one. The digital ecosystem could boost institutions or businesses to become more agile to adopt the new technologies implemented on their system.
- Skills upgrade
Upgrading skills is one of the surviving methods you could try to survive in this digitalized society. As technology developed rapidly, there would come the times when humans were no longer needed to do the task, replacing current jobs and make it more simplified with machines. Nobody wants to be jobless and replaced with machines, right? Humans are already gifted with the senses to process everything around them. There is no exception about having an upgrade on skills that could be useful at these shifting times. Just try to grind your senses until they become keen enough to adapt to the current needs. It’s the time for a race against the machine! - Analytics
Internet of things, big data, and information are the key to this digital era. There will always be a huge pile of data and information that need to be processed. As the digital activities keep rolling, the amount of data collected will be larger and bigger to record. There will be an analyzer needed to study and gain information to process these data. This is why data analytic positions are already booming, and flooded startups and digital companies worldwide. Having analytics skills to harvest data and build the right business strategy can increase the possibility of reaching the goals and gaining bigger revenue. As the current digital trends evolving the market needs, diagnostic and predictive analytics would compound a good strategy that fitted with it.
- Cultural Intelligence
The Internet has been connected almost all of the humankind worldwide. The digital interactions between different kinds of people have made us a diverse society. Digital transformation leads us to meet various people, cultures, and languages with a wide range and scope. Multilingual skills become more important to adapt to this situation. Understanding another culture can also help us choose which gestures, patterns, or behavior we must present to the foreign colleagues and business partners. It will affect their interpretation of you and your institution behind. Having vast cultural intelligence skills can help you adapt even wider and faster in this digital world. - Critical thinking & Problem-Solving.
In a world full of uncertainty, we need to stimulate and find methods to face it. This digital world lies within layers of possibilities that we don’t even know something wrong could happen. To avoid wrong pathways to step on, we need to rethink our methods at first. Critical thinking skill is needed to resolve these things. Try to find out what could go wrong by implementing the circle of the critical thinking process. Analyzing, reasoning, evaluating, problem-solving, then decision making. First, identifying the current problem to know what problem you’re faced with. Then you can identify the cause of the problem. After knowing the problem, you can start to brainstorm and find the solutions for the problem. You can choose the one that suitable to solve that problem. If it all already done, follow up and review all of your problem-solving processes to know that your solution works.
These critical thinking and problem-solving skills could help you to face the digital world that could bring you thousands of possibilities ahead. Take less risk with a well-stimulated strategy to survive through this digitalized society.
- Learn and gain a lot
The Internet already allows us to connect ourselves to the outside world. Access to a wide variety of information from every corner of this planet. We can learn almost everything in this world from just an internet connection! It sounds cliche, but in fact, we can actually learn something new from our gadget screens. We wouldn’t learn about the marketing plan or business strategy without joining a course, getting a degree, or buying marketing books if we were 20 years ago. But now we can easily access and learn just by browsing it on the internet. Online journals, tutorials, and explaining videos can help us learn new things. Like programmers, designers, marketers, etc., many self-taught professionals can compete with others as they learn and master their skills from the internet.
- Grow the networks
Social media already breaks the wall and creates a new way for people to socialize with each other. There is no more distance or time barrier for people to communicate as the internet provides and supports video calls, phone calls, or message chats worldwide. We can utilize social media to expand our relations and networks as wide as possible in this digitalized society. Grow yourself with more supports and insights from the professionals. For a career person, you can expand networks on Linkedin. It will provide you more colleagues and new connections with professionals interested in recruiting or joining with you to reach a better goal.
- Scope your future
Actually, we don’t know what could happen in the upcoming years. But we can prepare for it, whether it’s going to be good or even bad. Start with plan something that matters the most for yourself. Try to look at yourself, what do you want to achieve in the future. Make a short, middle, and long-term plan of your target. If you were working on something, whatever it is, you should predict if that job still sustains and available in the future? Is it going to be replaced by computers and machines? This is why critical thinking and analytics will help you to survive in this digitalized world. I hope that the new skills and courses you learn from the internet also support you to find other things outside your current comfort zone. Only you can find out which pathways will be stepped on your next journey in this digitalized society.
This digital world consists of a way more dark and deeper mystery to know about. There will always be a lot of uncertainty hanging around us. But at least, we could prepare even for the worst-case hit us right at the face. Stay foolish, stay hungry.
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Contributor : Abdul Hamid
