CREATING A NEW REWARDS BASED ECONOMY
By: Alpesh Patel
One of the most innovative inventions of this generation has been the mobile phone. Mobile phones are a priority, and we find them difficult to live without. These small devices have transformed the entire communications landscape. Whether they are used for personal or business purposes, we now have the ability to carry our entire world in our back pocket.
Not long ago, our friends and loved ones could only contact us through landlines. If we went out and missed their call, we would return to a voice message and promptly call back. For those who didn’t have the luxury of a landline, it wasn’t uncommon to turn up at someone’s home unannounced regardless of the distance.
The communications industry has evolved at record breaking speed, and today, over 5 billion people globally, carry a mobile phone. It is such an essential gadget, that many have listed it as one of their priority bills.
Think about it…
This miniscule contraption now controls every aspect of your life to the point where anxiety sets in when you think you’ve lost your phone. The mobile phone hardware industry is dominated by a handful of corporate giants. We can therefore conclude that our lives are controlled by these organizations. Research suggests that the average person in the United States spends approximately five to six hours per day on their phones, and this doesn’t include work related activity. Everything is available to us at the click of a button, we can socialize, shop, order food, pay bills...the list is endless. Search engines such as google monitor your internet habits and then send us targeted adverts to entice us to make a purchase.
Mobile phone use increased exponentially during the COVID-19 lockdowns. With the entire world shut in their homes, our only escape was online interaction. Work meetings, education, and social gatherings took place virtually. With social distancing measures in place, the pandemic transformed human interplay, and global statistics report that smartphone usage increased by more than 30 percent. In a recent Price Water House Cooper report, it states that the pandemic has accelerated global data consumption,and increased the demand for internet access. People registered to more subscription services and spent more time watching streamed video content. Additionally, there was an significant increase in mobile gaming.
Access to reliable and affordable internet has never been more important. Whether due to the shift in home-schooling, or remote working, it is imperative that people have a stable internet connection. However, the pandemic served to further highlight the great divide in societies worldwide. Over 6 percent of the American population (21 million people) have no access to high speed internet. At 13% this figure is even higher in Australia. Even the world’s wealthiest countries are unable to keep everyone connected. According to the latest statistics, we are not as connected as we’d like to think. There are a total of 3.7 billion people worldwide without internet access! The majority of these people come from impoverished countries.
So, as much as we love technology, who really benefits from it? Yes, we can get excited about our ability to download the latest films, or have our groceries delivered to our door. But these things lose their significance when we realize how severe the digital divide really is.
As the saying goes, the rich are getting richer, and the poor are getting poorer. Never has this statement become such a reality to us than over the last two years. Within 18 months. Tech giants experienced a surge in profits as consumers sought cloud storage and upgrades during lockdown. At $21.7 billion, Apple's profits almost doubled as customers opted for the more expensive 5G iPhones. At $16.5 billion, Microsoft's profits went up by 47%. Alphabet, Google's parent company also reported a massive increase in sales and soaring profits.
According to the Pew Research Center, although all races have similar rates of smartphone ownership. Due to a lack of broadband access in poor households, blacks and Hispanics rely heavily on their phone for internet access. Thirteen percent of Hispanics, and 12 percent of blacks are Smartphone dependent. On the other hand, only 4% of whites rely on their phones for internet access.
We can bemoan being exploited by multi billion dollar companies as much as we want, but ultimately, we are responsible for contributing to their growth. The only people who benefit from our excessive mobile phone use are the corporate giants. The good news is that I believe a shift is coming. If we the public are putting money into the hands of the owners and controllers of the digital industry, it only makes sense that we should also reap a share in the profits right?
Times are definitely changing, an increasing number of people have grown tired of economic inequality and are taking action to close the gap. Not only did the pandemic open our eyes to the digital divide, it became very apparent that our governments don’t have our best interests at heart. While tech giants were raking in billions, the average person became so impoverished, they were unable to pay for their basic necessities. As a result, people started working on the side hustles they had been dreaming about for so many years. When you become complacent with a pay check, it’s easy to put what you really want on hold. But the pandemic forced people to step out of their comfort zones to secure the financial wellbeing of their loved ones.
At present, what we are seeing is a new pathway being carved out in the mobile telecoms space. We are about to step into a new era that is going to revolutionize the tech industry. What is this new era? One where the user shares in the benefits - a new digital rewards based company based on a phenomenon known as Web3.0 and blockchain technology.
It sounds too good to be true doesn’t it? But it really isn’t, we have the power to demand it. Just take a few minutes to imagine this:
IMAGINE: - A phone that pays you every time you look at it? Each app you click on, every website you log onto and every video you watch, you are rewarded. AI is tracking our every move, but now, that tracking benefits you because with every click… you get paid.
IMAGINE - A screen reward economy where our conscious and unconscious actions are rewarded. You will have the ability to see the dollars accumulating in your digital wallet.
IMAGINE - A one stop solution where your device is curated with the best of Fintech, health tech, Ad tech and Ed tech - serving your needs and rewarding you.
IMAGINE - Earning “on the go “with your own personal SmartPOS payment acceptance inbuilt into your Smartphone. So now you can set up that small business that you have always dreamt off
IMAGINE - A new type of device based on Blockchain technology that brings Web 3.0 to the forefront and enables the user to earn tokens according to their usage.
IMAGINE - If Apple and Samsung had given you a token to enable you to earn while you scroll? If the average person spends six hours a day on their phone, just think about how much that token would be worth today?
Well…you can stop imagining because this technology already exists and it’s about to take over the world! It’s not going to stop with your phone, eventually everything you touch from your car to your fridge will pay you!
With technology like this, there is no need for anyone to get left behind. It empowers people to take control of their own lives and profit from the normal activities they take part in every day.
The world would be a much better place if the burden of impoverishment was lifted off the backs of those suffering. There is so much unlocked potential in the lives of the poor, but because they are forced to fight for basic survival, they are robbed of their ability to have a meaningful life. The world would be a better place, and societies could live in harmony if people simply had enough money to sustain themselves. Studies suggest that the rich are more productive because they can focus on the things that bring them the greatest rewards since worrying about money isn’t a factor in their lives. What would the world be like if everyone was on a level playing field? If we all had the same opportunities, if we could all go to bed with a clear mind knowing that our bills have been paid?
This is not about creating conflict with the affluent. They have educated themselves and worked hard for their positions. I believe there is enough wealth in the world for everyone to succeed. Poverty and inequality should not exist, and with Web 3.0 technology, we could eradicate it very quickly. If we are serious about closing the gap between the rich and the poor, everyone has a part to play.
I will close with an old African proverb: “If you think you are too small to make a difference, try spending the night with a mosquito.”
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