3WD Boon and Curse

You must be wondering what is 3WD?. It is not the Three Wheel Drive device. It symbolizes Wealth, Wine, Word (3W) and Drugs. It is also World Wide Web (3W) and Data. How is it a boon and curse at the same time? Let us look into some of the reasons.

Wealth is essential for the growth of human beings and countries. Hence it is a boon. But wealth makes man arrogant and dangerous when it exceeds its limit. Such people believe money power can buy anything (to an extent) and the fittest will survive. Wealth can lead to jealousy between persons and can be harmful if the limits are crossed. You can see many families split and fight each other on issues regarding money and properties. So it is a curse.

Wine is good for some health issues. Research shows that it helps in preventing blood clot and inflammation of blood vessels. Alcohol has found to raise the HDL (Good) Cholesterol, helping unclogging of arteries. Wine in moderate quantity can help weight loss, improve memory and boost immunity. So, within the limits Wine or Alcohol is a boon.

We can see many cases where Alcohol has spoiled the health of a person and ruined the family. Wine contains approximately 11.6 percent alcohol by volume (ABV). Beer contains about 4.5 percent, liquor can contain up to 37 percent. So, if one cannot limit its consumption, any alcoholic product can be harmful. Starting with a small quantity, often to give company to someone, one starts alcohol consumption and reaches a stage where alcohol consumes the person. Career, Goodwill, Family, Wealth everything is spoiled in no time unless the alcoholic controls or quits consumption of alcohol. Health is also affected badly. Hence Wine or Alcohol can be a curse.

Words are so powerful that it can give both positive and negative results, depending upon the interpretation. One and the same word told in different tones or different contexts can create totally different reactions. It entirely depends upon one’s mood, expressions and the situation. Using the right word at the right context can be a boon and in a wrong way and wrong place the same word can be a curse too.

Drugs (few drugs) are sometimes used as medicines for treatment, which is a boon. But in the wrong hands, it is very dangerous. Drug addicts are a menace to families, communities and countries equally. Recently I have seen news about a son, a drug addict, who brutally killed his mother because she did not give him money with which he wanted to buy drugs. When a drug addict is deprived of his/her daily dose, turns violent and could also end up in suicide. So drug is a curse.

Why World Wide Web and Data then?

World Wide Web has changed our life expanding the possibilities of communication, business, travel, networking and socializing. Online Shopping, Blogging, Instant Messaging, E-Commerce, Distant Learning and many other areas have been highly impacted by the WWW (or 3W). The WWW has enabled business and organizations to establish a presence. Social Networking platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram – to name a few – have played a big role in connecting people together living or working miles and miles apart. So, in general the WWW is a boon to the mankind.

But there are negative aspects as well to the WWW. The personal contact has been reduced creating a false sense of community. There are many unlawful and unethical things available on the web which can spoil the children and the youth, tempting/leading them to dangerous and unhealthy situations unless the usage is controlled properly. The habit of reading a printed book and writing are very much reduced. Continuous exposure to the bright light of the Monitors/Displays have started taking a toll on the vision and many complain about head ache, pain in the eyes and neck pain. We have become lazy to use our brain in many cases as search engines can fetch us multitude of results very easily. Unless we limit ourselves, the WWW can be a curse.

Data is very important for many things. Data Analytics, Data Visualization, Data Integration and similar have made a great impact in what we think and do, as well as in business. Data about various things are available and captured through many platforms like Desktops, Mobile Phones, Online Digital Clicks, Interactions on Social Media, Internet Of Things and so on. They are captured, stored and analyzed by many and based upon their analysis companies take advantage and change their Customer Experience. Your shopping and food preferences, items you order through Online Portals etc are being captured. Business analyzing the data, can understand much more about their position in the market, plan and improve their products and services. Sitting at home, we are able to book tickets, hotels, order food and other commodities. We are able to track shipments shipped by and consigned to us online. Online Banking and other Financial Transactions have made the visits to banks and financial institutions redundant. This is of course a boon.

Imagine what happens if the data reaches the wrong hands or if your personal data or your photo is used for something bad? Online scams and cheating are common now and it is very difficult to be safe and protect one’s personal data. You might have seen advertisements appearing on many websites you visit which are based on your web search, previous visits to sites and similar. It is possible as data regarding your clicks, searches, filters etc. are being captured and used to create an Artificial Intelligence. But an element of privacy is lost sometimes. With connected systems, whatever you search on one device will be available on another one where you have signed in with the same identity and thus could be misused if not taken care of. So, Data sometimes is a curse.

Use both 3WDs sensibly and responsibly for you to live happily and risk-free.