How Screens Became Part of Our Everyday Lives

There was a time when getting information meant waiting.

You waited for the newspaper to arrive. You waited for the evening news. You waited for a letter to cross several towns before reaching its destination. If you wanted to speak to someone who lived far away, you might have had to write a letter or make an expensive telephone call.

Today, waiting feels almost strange.

A message can cross the world in seconds. A student can attend a class without entering a classroom. A customer can buy something without stepping into a shop. A doctor can communicate with a patient from a different location. A business owner can advertise to thousands of people without renting a billboard.

All of this is possible because of digital technology.

And whether we realise it or not, it has quietly become one of the biggest influences on how we live.

How Did We Get Here?

Digital technology did not suddenly appear with smartphones and social media. Its roots go much further back.

The invention of computers changed the way information could be processed. The development of the Internet changed the way computers could communicate. Mobile phones removed the need to remain in one location to communicate. Then smartphones combined communication, photography, banking, entertainment, education, navigation and countless other functions into a device small enough to fit into a pocket.

The growth of digital technology was driven by a simple human desire:

We wanted things to become faster, easier and more connected.

People wanted to communicate without distance getting in the way.

Businesses wanted to reach more customers.

Scientists wanted to process enormous amounts of information.

Schools wanted better ways to teach and access learning materials.

Governments wanted to deliver services more efficiently.

Families wanted convenient ways to communicate and manage everyday life.

Technology kept responding to these needs—and then created new needs of its own.

Digital Technology at Home

Think about an ordinary home today.

Someone may wake up to an alarm on a phone. They check messages, read the news, listen to music and perhaps watch a video before getting out of bed.

Someone else may use a mobile banking app to transfer money.

A parent may communicate with a child's teacher through WhatsApp.

A family member living abroad may join a family conversation through a video call.

Someone may order food online instead of cooking.

Even entertainment has changed. People no longer have to wait for a particular programme to appear on television. They can choose what they want to watch and when they want to watch it.

Digital technology has made the home more connected and convenient.

But convenience has a price.

Sometimes everyone is physically together but mentally somewhere else.

A family can sit around the same table while each person looks down at a different screen.

Technology can bring distant people closer while, ironically, making people beside us feel further away.

The Workplace Has Changed

Walk into many modern workplaces and you will see how deeply digital technology has transformed employment.

Emails have replaced many physical letters.

Video meetings can bring people together across different countries.

Digital documents have reduced the need for mountains of paper.

Businesses can store information electronically, communicate with customers instantly and analyse data to make decisions.

And then there is remote work.

A person can live in Lagos and work for an organisation whose headquarters are thousands of kilometres away.

This would have seemed almost impossible to many workers a few decades ago.

For small businesses, digital technology has also created opportunities that were once available mainly to large companies.

A young entrepreneur can create a business page, display products online, communicate with customers and receive payments without owning a large physical shop.

Social media has become a marketplace.

A smartphone can become an office.

An Internet connection can become a bridge to customers around the world.

And Then Came the Classroom

Education may be one of the areas where digital technology has created some of the most noticeable changes.

A student who does not understand a topic can search for another explanation online.

Teachers can use presentations, educational videos, digital quizzes and online resources to make lessons more interactive.

Students can access books, journals, tutorials and courses without physically travelling to a library.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, when schools around the world were forced to close their physical classrooms, digital technology became particularly important. Online platforms allowed many teachers and students to continue learning when meeting physically was difficult or impossible.

Nigeria experienced this too.

Schools turned to WhatsApp groups, online classes, recorded lessons and other digital methods to maintain contact with students.

It was not perfect.

Not every child had a smartphone.

Not every home had reliable internet access.

Not every teacher had the same level of digital skills.

But the experience showed something important:

Digital technology can keep education moving when physical systems are disrupted.

Why Do We Feel We Cannot Live Without It?

Perhaps the most interesting question is not whether technology has changed our lives.

It clearly has.

The real question is:

Why has it become so difficult to imagine life without it?

Part of the answer is convenience.

Once people become accustomed to doing something quickly, going back to the old way feels unnecessarily difficult.

Imagine being asked to transfer money without a mobile banking app.

Imagine finding an unfamiliar address without digital maps.

Imagine organising a large event without instant messaging.

Imagine running a business without social media or digital advertising.

Imagine students researching a topic without the internet.

We have built our routines around these tools.

Technology is no longer simply something we use.

It has become part of the way we function.

The Good Side

There is much to appreciate.

Digital technology has made communication faster.

It has expanded access to information.

It has created new careers and businesses.

It has helped people work from different locations.

It has made banking and shopping more convenient.

It has supported medical research and healthcare.

It has helped students learn beyond the limits of their classrooms.

It has given creative people platforms to share their work.

A talented young Nigerian writer no longer needs to wait for a traditional publisher before finding readers.

A small business owner can reach customers through social media.

A teacher can create educational content and reach students outside the classroom.

Someone with a skill can learn another skill online.

The possibilities are enormous.

But Technology Has a Darker Side

Every powerful tool can be misused.

The same internet that gives us information can also spread misinformation.

The same social media that connects people can encourage unhealthy comparison and pressure.

The same smartphone that helps students learn can become a constant distraction.

Digital platforms can consume hours without us noticing.

Privacy is another concern. Much of what people do online leaves behind information about their interests, activities and habits.

Cybercrime has also grown alongside digital technology.

People can lose money through online scams. Personal accounts can be hacked. False information can damage reputations. Young people can encounter content that is inappropriate or harmful.

There is also the problem of dependence.

Sometimes we do not use technology because we need it.

We use it because we are bored.

Then boredom itself begins to feel uncomfortable.

A few minutes without a notification can feel strangely empty.

What Happened Before Digital Technology?

It is easy to romanticise the past.

Life before digital technology was not necessarily better.

People had slower communication.

Finding information could require considerable effort.

Businesses had fewer ways to reach customers.

Students depended heavily on physical books and libraries.

Keeping in touch with people living far away was more difficult.

Emergencies could be harder to communicate.

Yet there were things people sometimes had more of.

Face-to-face conversations.

Patience.

Physical community.

Fewer digital distractions.

The ability to be unreachable for a while.

Perhaps the lesson is not that we should return to the past.

We cannot—and probably should not.

The lesson is that technology should serve us rather than control us.

The Generation That Grew Up Online

For younger generations, the distinction between the digital world and the real world is becoming increasingly blurred.

Someone may have friends they have never met physically.

A child may learn a skill from someone living on another continent.

A teenager may express creativity through videos, writing, music or digital art.

At the same time, online experiences can influence confidence, friendships, opinions and identity.

This means digital literacy is no longer optional.

Knowing how to operate a phone is not enough.

We need to know how to question information.

We need to protect personal information.

We need to recognise scams.

We need to understand that what appears online is not always the complete picture.

And perhaps most importantly, we need to know when to put the phone down.

So, Where Do We Go From Here?

I don't think the answer is to fear technology.

Technology is not automatically good or bad.

It depends largely on how we use it.

A smartphone can help a student learn or prevent that student from concentrating.

Social media can help a business grow or consume someone's entire day.

The internet can educate us or deceive us.

Digital technology can connect families separated by thousands of kilometres, yet disconnect people sitting in the same room.

The difference often comes down to choice and discipline.

We should not allow convenience to replace thinking.

We should not allow screens to replace relationships.

We should not allow algorithms to decide everything we believe.

And we should not become so dependent on technology that we forget how to function without it.

Digital technology has changed our homes, schools, workplaces, businesses and relationships. It has made some things remarkably easier while creating problems that previous generations never had to face.

Perhaps the wisest approach is neither to reject it nor worship it.

Use it. Learn from it. Benefit from it. But remain in control of it.

Because technology may be changing the world around us, but the responsibility for deciding what kind of world we create still belongs to us.