Although it may seem incredulous to some Americans, there are some parts of the world where many people don’t use laptops. One such place is the southeastern country of Myanmar, also known as Burma. Much of the country’s technology and infrastructure has long been obsolete elsewhere. In Myanmar, things like rubber stamps, typewriters and public phone booths are still fairly common.
Many of Myanmar’s citizens have jobs that depend on the outdated technology. Unfortunately for them, Myanmar has been undergoing rapid Westernization in the past few years. The same typewriters and rubber stamps that provide income for thousands of people in the country are quickly becoming obsolete.
A Government That Prevented Technology
For years, Myanmar was far behind the Western world in technology and innovation. Typewriters, public phones and rubber stamps have been obsolete in the United States for decades. The only people who buy these products in the West do so because of nostalgia. However, until recently Myanmar regulated the price of technology. A cell phone could only be obtained at a several thousand dollar price tag. Because so few could afford this luxury, renting phone lines became popular. Talking on such a line was less than ideal since the owner would hear the entire conversation, but for many, it was the only option. Since the price of cell phones has been unfrozen, though, public lines are becoming less and less popular. That means those who rented out their phones to customers in the past may soon be out of business.
Computers in Myanmar have been similarly scarce. In the United States, we often take computers for granted — we hardly notice how many different parts of our life are affected by them. Obviously, computers have made typewriters obsolete, but are many of us really aware how technology affects our cars? Without laptops and other devices, mechanics would complete vehicle diagnostics much more slowly than they do now. Without construction software from Maxwell Systems, contractors would also have much more difficulty managing their projects. As computers are introduced in Myanmar, people from all walks of life will have to learn to use them.
Rapid Transformation
It may not come as a surprise that Myanmar is catching up with the rest of the world. Such progress may seem inevitable to us. It’s not as if the country could use rotary phones for the next hundred years. The problem is Myanmar’s modernization is taking place at an alarmingly fast pace. In Western society, technology was introduced slowly. Desktops gradually replaced typewriters, just as machines took over the jobs of many factory workers. However, in Myanmar the military rapidly introduced a form of democracy two years ago, and since then technological progress has been extremely rapid. Changes that would normally take place over several years have been condensed into a few months. As a result, the people of Myanmar have to learn new technology almost overnight. Only time will tell exactly how this will affect the country at large, but chances are many people will have to find new ways to make ends meet.