The utility of technology isn’t limited to gender or even age for that matter. It is fair to say that technology has greatly emancipated this generation of millennials and anyone amenable to using it. We live in an age controlled by smartphones where your access to the world is instant and replete with tools that enable you to do everything that is important in your life. From paying your bills to buying groceries and shopping or even banking, everything can be done from the comfort of your home using smartphones., No one in this day and age is averse to using technology, rather every age group has embraced it for the utility, convenience and time it saves.
Within societies it is relevant to see how technology affects the zeitgeist, the roles and habits of people and how they adapt to new things. Women all over the world even in Pakistan have not only embraced it rather their routine is dependent on making either daily chores, work responsibilities, cooking, etc. much easier.
Let us count how technology is making life convenient for women who work and housewives who have to juggle multiple responsibilities all the time.
- Cooking Apps
Gone are the days when women had to rely solely on cooking channels or tangible cookbooks. Apps like Tasty, Tastemade, etc. give you instant (2 minute) video recipes which show you how to cook. Instead of reading recipes, downloading them and going through the hassle, you get a visual display of how it is done.
- Food Delivery Services
Women don’t need to slave away in the kitchen anymore if they don’t have time. We have working women who don’t always have time to cook and clean. Even housewives sometimes want a reprieve from cooking given their staggering responsibilities at home. Now a working mom can easily download an app and order whatever their heart desires from the click of a button from whichever restaurant she prefers. Companies like Cheetay.pk have made it convenient for those who can’t cook and want food instantly.
- Online Shopping and E-Commerce websites
Whether it is general shopping or buying specific items, online shopping has given a free pass to all women managing a household. With online shopping becoming ubiquitous, women can buy anything they want e.g. kitchen items like pressure cookers, frying pans, baking trays, baking apparatus; everything is available online. The hassle of driving and the problem of being dependant on another person has been eliminated.
- Virtual/online restaurants
Virtual restaurants and home cooks have made it big as throngs of people order food instead of going all the way to eat a meal. What this offers is convenience to a vast majority of the population. E-commerce platforms and virtual food providers like The Cheetay Tiffin, Calivu, Box Wala, etc. all provide healthy and affordable food to people who need it. Moms who work and mothers who have tremendous responsibilities can now rely on such ventures in case they need lunch instantly.
- Food Forums on social media and Blogs/Websites
We all have smartphones, tablets and laptops to help us in our daily life. Apart from work, technology has broadened the utility of gadgets all over the world. These have revolutionised every facet of life for most people including women. Women can now rely on food blogs and websites (international and local) in case they need a recipe. The wealth of information available makes it so easy. We live in an age of a globalisation where everyone is connected. Social media and online portals are available where people interact and share ideas, recipes and talk about food. With the changing dynamics of the culinary world, women rely on convenience and efficient management of their daily chores and household. Technology has made it viable for women to manage their household in an effective manner. Food forums, food blogs, Instagram video tutorials, Youtube videos, etc. all enable women to learn, cook and manage their chores easily. Moreover, with other technological facilities i.e. location sharing, video calling, fitness apps, makeup apps and Pinterest which serves as a catalogue of ideas and shared interests, makes things manageable and easy.
