We are the Marbella online marketing professional and we know that technology moves too fast these days – it’s hard to keep up!  But it’s an industry that holds the world’s attention more than any other. Given its massive influence over most societies, technology will be subject to extremes of attitude. Of course there will always be those that lie somewhere in the middle, but it’s interesting to consider the basis behind the stronger perspectives. We have the technophiles and the technophobes, and you can often tell them apart by their choice of mobile phone alone.

The Technophobes

First up are the most resistant of technophobes who move to secluded communes to avoid wifi completely and can be heard proudly telling others that they haven’t had a mobile phone since 2010, or that they’ve still got their perfectly functioning Nokia 6100 for emergencies only (of course). Then there are those whose resentment for the ever-increasing flow of modern tech is more passive. For example, they want to function normally within society so they know that they’ll need a mobile phone and laptop unless they’re prepared to endure regular inconvenience and the inevitable loss of social connections. They may be of the opinion that nature itself is taken for granted while efforts towards (and actual advancements in) technology consistently hold the lion’s share of human attention; some might even say that the driving force behind this is the human ego, with scientists racing to come up with the most innovative inventions capable of either synthesizing or completely outdoing nature’s processes.

Perhaps they feel that whatever technology they invest their hard earned cash in, they are chasing the holy grail; no sooner had they finished charging their new iPhone 5c for the first time than the 6 was forcing its way into their awareness via their Facebook news feed. These people may harbor suspicions that they are being drip-fed technology sold to the public as the current ultimate, when in reality the advancements are far superior. The logic behind this belief is obvious – it doesn’t make good business sense for the technological giants such as Microsoft, Apple and the like to show all their aces. While so many pulses are evidently racing at the prospect of owning a new Apple watch or TV – arguably smallfry technology when considering the AI capabilities rumoured to be in existence – they can throw us a bone and we may even put the bank account in the red once in a while for the privilege.

The Technophiles

In stark contrast to the often cynical and suspicious views of the technophobes, the die-hard technophiles may well be happy to sleep in a tent outside their nearest Apple store in order to be the first to lay their hands on the latest technological fantasy. Technophiles’ children are always the first to have the latest video games and gadgets, and can be seen fully engaged in an iPad while neighbouring technophobes’ children are outside on the green playing football. Technophiles far outnumber technophobes – you only need to look around a busy city centre to see people of all demographics idly scrolling through the latest smartphone or tablet, perhaps ‘Face Timing’ a peer or taking and uploading selfies for Instagram. They’re the first to upload their lives onto iCloud while the technophobes are doggedly clinging to their collection of 2MB USB sticks.

The fact that the technophiles are in the majority and thus dictating the market speed is apparent when you consider that Apple are in the business of rendering their relatively recent technology unusable with software upgrades that cause glitches, forcing many users to upgrade. They do, of course, because they’re already hooked. Soon the tech-worshipping crowd will be even easier to distinguish, sporting Google headsets and Apple watches. The technophobes are easy to spot too; they can be seen engrossed in their paperback on the train. If you’re lucky enough to see their mobile phone in action, it’s likely to be an iPhone 4.

Whichever camp you fall into, it cannot be denied that technological advancements have aided the rapid expansion of connectivity globally for businesses (who have no choice but to keep up) and individuals; it has made things possible for the average person that they may never have dreamed of as recently as fifteen or twenty years ago. Technology is no different to anything else in that it can be a huge asset or an unhealthy detriment. The key is balance, and education – knowing what works best for you, which items constitute the best investment and how to utilize them to your advantage without becoming entirely dependent on them.