Global Trend: Wearable Technology

The technology is changing day by day and is getting from the desktop, attached to our body. Technology itself already plays a big role in our daily lives. The new wearable technologies have the ability to take the relationship between people and technology even further. These emerging technologies will allow people to interact better with technology and also enable more meaningful experiences by extending the reach of interpersonal and machine-to-person communication. There are so many advantages of the new wearable’s. For example; they are hands-free, always on, environmentally aware, constantly connected, and attention getting, many drawbacks such as the constant urge to check the information the devices are providing. However, more important are the significant concerns regarding data privacy as well as moral, social and ethical issues.
Today, the next generation of wearable technologies covers a wide range of devices and products. Wristbands, rings, glasses and watches can be given as examples. Additionally not so far from now you’ll be able to buy, clothing and footwear that tells you the weather or sends you a message to remind you to work out. Wearable’s have the ability to give us far more control over our lives and in particular our health – but we need to be aware of the challenges. This new trend is in so many ways, an appealing concept. Wearing a device on your body that can be constantly connected to provide immediate access to whatever information you need anytime, anywhere sounds attractive to many people but it has also a negative side. These technological devices will be able to track and register every little movement and health condition of the human body, in private as well as in public spaces. With the amount of data, these can potentially gather, personal, behavioral and medical content. It will be even more important to address the issue of data security and privacy in the future.

However, analysts to journalists, fashioners, product evangelists and other people fascinated by this emerging technology are talking about this constantly. Although many people clearly seem excited by the technology, wearable’s are getting all kinds of different reviews and predictions. As there are positive reviews, there are also ones that say this new trend would not survive for that long. Wearable technology is, however, part of the larger wave of the ‘internet of things’, with a potential economic impact of up to US$6.2 trillion annually by 2025, according to McKinsey. (Source:Business Day)
Although everyone thinks and knows that this new trend is great, we all are giving time for the technology to integrate with fashion and design. The companies who are manufacturing these products are challenged to make the goods look attractive, as well as delivering all the cool functionality that consumers are expecting. For wearables to be found in every home requires consumer-friendly designs that are fashionable, portable, convenient, and safe. For that, it first needs to ensure the Data privacy and protection.
Because when mobile technology suddenly took off the risk of data security and the assault on privacy of constant data-sharing and interaction was overlooked, leading to many concerns and legal battles. And if you are wearing the “technological devices” it is risky that the data sharing will even get higher.
Other than the data privacy and protection, what is the fashion industry doing with technological wearable’s? The biggest topic in wearables over the past year has been the need for technology to interact with fashion. As often the technology is not attractive to the fashionable crowd. Today, an increasing number of tech companies and fashion designers/brands are collaborating to make wearables attractive to consumers who want fashionable accessories, shoes, and clothing. For example; Fitbit, the fitness tracker maker, is collaborating with the luxury