There is no better time to live than right now. Well, okay, we can think of a few ways that that might not be true, but for the most part, the modern age is a pretty good one. We are enjoying advanced comfort, greater access to knowledge, and relative stability around the world. Oh, and we are living longer than ever. A major reason for the longer life span of the human race is the fact that technology has progressed to the point where we can conquer many life-threatening problems that were previously unbeatable. Here are a few examples of how modern technology has helped us live longer.
Information at Your Fingertips
One of the simplest ways that technology has helped us live longer lives is by giving us the ability to learn about any and everything whenever we want. If we are going to be doing something that is potentially dangerous or ill-advised, we can read about it on the Internet beforehand. Stories about how to stay safe in the outdoors or what kinds of foods to eat to avoid health problems are now readily available, giving every individual the chance to make the correct decisions to lengthen their own lives. Propaganda campaigns, like the ones used to sell cigarettes back in the day, are now less powerful thanks to the fact that we can all perform our own research and determine if something is safe or not.
Food and Water Treatment
While science and technology’s role in food is somewhat controversial these days, it is inarguable that they have made it so that we are safer than ever to just eat the food on our tables. Additionally, water purification is now being spread across the planet, giving communities that always had to risk water-borne diseases the chance to enjoy clean, healthy drinking water. Disease spread through water and food was a massive killer throughout much of human history, and our relatively newfound ability to defeat these diseases is allowing many people to live longer than ever. Of course, some countries still have a way to go, but things are only getting better.
Better Hospital Technology
When you walk into a hospital to be treated these days, you can thank technology. There are an uncountable number of ways that advanced tech has improved our hospitals. Computers are faster and have better storage, allowing for accurate recording of health details and patient information. The machines that we are hooked up to in the hospital monitor our vitals, something that was not possible earlier on in human history. The healthcare industry in general owes its success to technology; there are things that are treatable now that used to simply be a death sentence. Even the birthing process has become safer thanks to new pieces of technology.
Vaccines
Perhaps one of the single pieces of technology that has saved the most lives is vaccines. It’s pretty crazy to think that it wasn’t all that long ago that vaccines were first introduced to the human populace; it wasn’t really until the 50s that they were widespread. We have now eliminated certain deadly diseases and crippled many more that used to be completely fearsome. Estimates vary, but some think that vaccines have saved as many as 1 billion lives since 1955.
Waste Management
Human waste is a problem. And for thousands of years, societies did not properly dispose of or treat waste in a sanitary fashion. This resulted in disease running rampant, and it had a major effect on mortality rates. Many societies across every continent now have advanced plumbing systems that safely take our waste to be treated so that it cannot make us sick, and that is a major win for the human lifespan. The next time you see your toilet, feel thankful that it keeps you and your friends from getting ill.
