Unlocking Mind: Climbing the ladder of technology benefits/Published articles/ The Economic Times, June 10, 2008

Clearly a section of Indian consumers are reveling in the new-found enjoyment of technology products – be it personal computing, internet, telecom services, mobiles or other visual gadgets. “Technology is encouraging me to live life king size; it is making the experience of living more pleasurable” said a young technology worker in a depth interview recently. With more and more Indians working in technology-creating companies, how will our relationship with technology change and what do brands have to do to translate technology benefits to emotional payoffs? What is it that drives early adopters, what creates the urge to learn and experiment and how does learning new techie tricks make you feel?

“The Yin-Yang of Technology Payoffs”, a recent JWT Brand Chakras study revealed that the tech coin has two sides. There is efficiency and indulgence, refuge and escape, conformism and showmanship, child-like delight and intellectual growth. But the dominating themes are Power and Pleasure. As a young BPO worker put it, “Technology helps to influence others in my friends’ circles, with the latest gizmos, I have the knowledge of technology that they do not have. This gives me a kind of power and helps me dominate.”

At a social level, there is an obvious celebration of the financial capacity to buy, “Technology is making my life more efficient, but that is more of a bonus; the main benefit is the social benefits. I now have to keep up the impression that I have the latest with me”. The theme of “makes me feel more intelligent than others around me” also dominates. At a personal level, a tech savvy amateur photographer declares, “My friend bought a new digital camera and he does not know how to use it; I just took it and showed him how to use all the features and I was able to create a positive impression before my friends”. At a business level it goes as far as, “Earlier customers used to bargain for discounts. But now though my product quality is still the same the gadgets that I flaunt in my office increases my clout in dealings” !


In work life, technology can facilitate democracy or meritocracy, foster conformism or creativity. It can be a performance leveler: “I have never stood first anywhere, in my second year of engineering, I dropped two subjects. But now I feel very powerful with these gadgets, I feel more positive about myself”. Or a performance booster: “I want technology to boost my spirit to enable me to go beyond the limits while competing with co-workers.”

How you use technology depends on your orientation. You could be looking to satisfy your need to belong or your need to be individualistic. At the very least, technology helps you celebrate life, but as you go up the ladder, it becomes a tool for intellectual evolution. The Brand Chakras study identified five types of technology mindsets. The Doer: keen on upgrading quality of everyday life, with a thirst for ease and efficiency in day-to-day life, wants technology to maximize life and help balance different spheres. The Connector: strong urge to nurture relationships and stay anchored. The Indulger: fundamental need for fun and entertainment to cope with day-to-day pressures. The Discriminator: pressured to establish, redeem, conquer, catch up or breakaway to create a distinct identity and distance himself from the rest. The Explorer: instinctive thirst for excitement through new experiences and keen to constantly add new facets to his life.

People who work in tech environments are particularly confident that their abilities will help them to make a mark wherever they go. They feel their tech knowledge gives them the confidence to face any new situation, reduces risk, increases experimentation, helps go beyond the immediate brief, takes them closer to perfection, and of course brings out creativity. As an animation specialist said, “With technology, now whatever I imagine, I can turn that into animation. It is easy to translate thoughts, plans into real form and this encourages me to think of new things, imagine freely”. Reflecting a deep desire for maximum utilization of inner resources and a sense of continuous improvement they say, “ Using technology , I would like to achieve something that has not been done in the past. I want technology to help me in my innovative thinking. I want technology to help me translate my innovative thoughts into real products. Technology can overcome the gap between my thinking and reality. I want to do things that have not been done before.”


Clearly, technology will no longer be just about convenience and greater efficiency. Its influence on the new techie Indian will get more profound and life defining. Technology is increasingly being seen as the most powerful agent of mental evolution. The power and worth of any technology will increasingly be evaluated in terms of its ability to unlock and express the power of the mind and the intellect. So while we all start by being Doers and Connectors, we’ll aim to climb the ladder and go on to being Discriminators and Explorers.