Do These 7 Types of Everyday Tech Make Our Lives Better?

Technology is sold to us with the promise of speed, efficiency and convenience. It is fundamentally meant to make our everyday life better. But has the tech revolution really propelled us into some digital utopia, in which struggle and confusion are a thing of the past, or rather, has it burdened us with an ever-tightening stranglehold on our daily lives? Is the old way of doing things actually better, or should we embrace this ever-changing world? The easiest way to answer these questions is to look at specific examples of where tech has begun to replace traditional systems. Below, I decide whether our lives have been enriched by these seven types of everyday tech.

1. Self-Checkouts

We do love queuing in the UK, and the checkout queue in a supermarket can often be a very British scene; the baby wailing in the trolley seat, the old lady counting out her change at the till, the small talk about the weather and the polite etiquette of placing the plastic divider down for the next person in line… it warms the heart. However, for those wanting to complete the “big shop” without the need to converse with others, there is an alternative, and it is called the self-checkout.

At times, self-checkouts provide a swift and satisfactory conclusion to your shopping experience. On other occasions, such as when the legitimacy of the item you’ve placed in the baggage area is questioned, they prove more trouble than they’re worth. Often, human intervention is needed in the form of a shop assistant to ensure things run according to plan, thus negating the fast-track benefits the self-checkout system so shamelessly promotes. However, I’d say when popping into the shop for a “few bits”, they are more convenient than traditional till checkouts and seldom require you to stand in long queues. There is still, however, a necessity for both.

Verdict: Draw

2. Digital Passes

Firstly, I’m a self-confessed lover of the humble paper ticket and, in the interest of posterity, have kept many, often beer-soaked, physical tickets from various gigs and football matches I’ve attended over the years. For that reason alone, I was already sceptical when digital passes became the new norm. The old system was simple. You bought a ticket, received it, and showed it on arrival at the event.

Now you have to download a pass from a website, email or app into your phone’s digital wallet and hope this goes according to plan. You then have to pray that your digital ticket doesn’t miraculously disappear by the time the event comes around. And, okay, this paperless process may be helping to save the planet, but I yearn for the days when you’d eagerly anticipate actual tickets arriving in the post.

In my experience, digital passes also seem to create bigger delays outside venues than their paper counterparts. Whether it’s the reader not being able to detect the QR code or people struggling to find the pass itself on their device, there are invariably hold-ups, which have a knock-on effect, particularly when thousands of people are involved. I say, if it’s not broke, don’t fix it. Bring back the paper ticket, which has unfortunately become a forgotten relic from a time before technology took over our lives.    

Verdict: No

3. Chatbot Support

If there is one area of business that has seen the most tech intervention, it is undoubtedly customer service. Much has been made of the difficulty in having the opportunity to speak to another human being when you, as a customer, have a problem or query. Automated live chat is often now the first port of call, with the initial process of visiting the company’s website and entering a message into a chat window being relatively pain-free. That may just be when the serenity ends, though…

Now, maybe I’ve just had some bad experiences with chatbot support, but if you’re asking for anything that requires even a smidgen of specificity, avoid it at all costs. It seems to offer only generic, scripted answers before giving up and sending you their customer service email address, making the entire process a complete waste of time. Humans understand nuance, complexity and unique circumstances; computer code does not. I’m afraid live chat is just another signpost on a worryingly long road towards human-less customer service, and I want to turn off at the next junction.

Verdict: No

4. Contactless Payments

As we edge ever closer to a cashless society, contactless payments are akin to the Grim Reaper, scything down every note, pound and penny in sight. A 2025 Payment Markets Report claimed that 57% of UK adults are now using mobile wallets, and there were 18.9 billion contactless payments made over the previous year. Debit, Credit and charge card payments accounted for 64% of all UK transactions, whereas cash accounted for less than 10 per cent for the first time in history. And whilst contactless payments are certainly convenient, particularly for smaller purchases, where they negate the need for you to fumble around in your pocket for spare change, they also have their drawbacks.

One of the downsides of contactless payments is that it is just so damn easy to overspend. In the days when most people used cash, you could only spend what you had in your wallet, whereas now, you can literally spend every penny in your bank account. There is also the potential for technical failures, not least when you’re met with the classic: “I’m afraid the card reader isn’t working today.” For such instances, it remains wise to carry a small amount of cash around with you. Although I do appreciate the convenience of contactless payments, the need for cash on occasions has made this one too close to call.

Verdict: Draw   

5. App-Only Parking

In the good old days, parking was paid for with any spare change you had floating around in your car, be it under seats, in the glove compartment, or, if you were really prepared, in the small section below the radio in front of the hand brake. You’d then receive a ticket from the machine, which would inform you exactly when you were required to return to your vehicle to avoid a fine. A few years ago, contactless parking payments became fashionable, although there was often still a coin slot if you wished to go down the old school route. You could say, at that point, it was the best of both worlds; you could pay with cash or card, if you wished, and still display your ticket proudly on your dashboard. Then app-only parking came along…

Finding the last space in the car park is stressful enough, but with mobile app-only parking, the fun doesn’t stop there. Firstly, a smartphone is a must; this can catch a lot of older drivers out. You then require a strong enough signal for you to download and use said app. Then, you must trust the app enough to input your bank details and hope they will accept them, as this can be another issue. Research last year from RAC claimed that as many as 3 in 4 motorists have had difficulties with mobile parking apps, with a common problem being the app itself not recognising the car park you are situated in!

Verdict: No

6. Online Check-In

The dreaded airport check-in queues were once something we all had to grin and bear if we wanted to jet off somewhere warm and sunny. The combination of that and lengthy security checks could make the airport experience a living hell. And whilst the security checks are something we all must still endure, at least there is now an alternative to standing in a long queue to receive your boarding pass, and it goes by the name of the online check-in.

With online check-ins, you can choose your seat and often save money by booking in advance, as certain airlines now charge a fee to those checking in the traditional way. All this can at least reduce some of the stress associated with air travel. This is, therefore, a tech upgrade I can fully get on board with (pun intended).

Verdict: Yes

7. Smart Home Devices

Look around the average UK property, and it will no doubt be filled with smart home devices. From Amazon Echo Dots to Ring Doorbells and Nest Thermostats, these products have crept into our lives, and we use them daily without ever really thinking about it. They are, literally, now part of the furniture, and it feels, in many cases, that we couldn’t live without them. I, for one, am a big advocate for the convenience provided by the Nest Thermostat and its accompanying app, and I also own an Amazon Echo Dot.

So, we’ve established that many of us use these devices, but what I really want to know is, do they make our lives better? It’s a pretty hard one to quantify, although I suppose, in the case of video doorbells, it could be argued that they offer a safety element. Overall, these devices make it easier to do things that we’ve always done in our homes, whether that’s listening to music, turning on the heating or seeing who is at the front door. Is it, therefore, fair to say that they are simply solving problems that didn’t exist in the first place? The answer is… probably.

Verdict: No

Final Thoughts

There’s no doubt that everyday tech is here to stay, but the question should maybe be: whose lives is it actually making better? Looking at some of these examples, there’s a strong argument that it is more beneficial for the companies that are saving money by cutting back on staff, as opposed to those that actually use these tech solutions regularly. With AI now being integrated into many of our daily processes, tech will no doubt have a greater impact on our day-to-day lives in the coming years.