Change can be fast

Sometimes things happen much faster than we expect. I was surprised to read how fast mobile information processing is becoming commonplace, at lest in certain countries: one third of adults in the UK use smartphones with considerable intensity. The breakdown of their activities (as well as that of teenager users) may suggest that it is all due to the wrong reasons (e.g. too much emphasis on social networking) but this is a common complaint about some phenomena we simply cannot change. At least possession and familiarity with a smartphone creates an opportunity we shouldn’t miss for professional applications.

Arguably more important is that people in the UK have started using their mobile devices as more than just phones: almost 50% goes online using mobile connections, even though 77% of households have now an Internet connection. Once again the story behind such impressive numbers can be linked to the wrong reasons (in particular teenagers avoiding parental control regardless of cost or performance) but once again the fact remains that the opportunity is there and cannot be ignored, even though some people are remarkably slow in recognizing the change, while others just join the bandwagon and make superficial use of the technology.

For example, I wonder how many universities and colleges really use the fact that their students have access to mobile information devices in education, especially with respect to the subjects they are studying. I’ve just finished my first ever course on mobile information processing in architecture and building and student performance was much better than I expected. I hope the students have realized not only the changes they will experience as professionals but also that they can influence their development or at least their application.