We like to think of the modern era as the technology era. But truth be told, ours is merely the digital technology era. Technology itself is something humanity has pursued from day one. Something as simple as the wheel was considered high tech when first introduced. Throughout the ages, all new technologies have had one thing in common: humanity eventually taking them for granted.

A good way to understand the concept is to compare smart home technology with the automobile. They have more in common than you might think. More importantly, while many of us can remember a time before smart home devices, none of us lived prior to the invention of the automobile.

Life Without Cars

The earliest automobiles were invented in the late 19th century. They were revolutionary at the time. With a car, people could suddenly travel much greater distances than they could with their horses and buggies. But at the time cars first came to market, no one actually needed them.

People got along just fine without automobiles. Trains and ships were readily available for long-distance travel. Local travel was easy enough with bicycles and simply by walking. Horses and carriages were available when walking or cycling were not practical.

Some 150 years later, we cannot imagine living without automobiles. We have spent decades building business and culture around the convenience of quick travel by car. So if all of the cars were to suddenly disappear, modern society would struggle to function. We now have the need for a device no one really needed back in the late 1800s. And yet cars are so commonplace that we take them for granted.

Smart Home Technology

In the 2020s, smart home technology is all the rage. Companies are working feverishly to develop the newest smart home devices and platforms. Consumers are eager to buy, purchasing everything from smart plugs to smart thermostats to voice operated smart speakers.

The thing is that we do not really need these devices. We all functioned just fine without them. Thirty years ago, we managed our thermostats manually. We flipped wall switches to turn lights on and off. It was all perfectly reasonable because we were used to it.

Today, home automation companies like Vivint give us so many choices. Between home security devices and home automation technologies that make life more convenient, Vivint and its competitors are changing the way we interact with our homes.

It Will Eventually Become the Norm

Home automation is not the norm right now. Although just under half of all U.S. households have at least one smart home device, one device does not make a home smart. Most homes are not thoroughly equipped with a complete range of smart home devices, either. But that day is coming.

Smart home tech will eventually be the standard. Every home will have smart lights, thermostat control, etc. And when that day comes, guess what will come with it? Homeowners taking smart home tech for granted.

We will know we take smart homes for granted when we start wondering how we ever lived without them. I have never had that experience with a car because I have never known life without automobiles. But now that I can talk to my lights to turn them on and off, I am starting to feel that way about smart home tech.

As humanity marches on, technology is always being developed. And eventually, all new technologies end up being taken for granted. We’ve seen it with the car. We are going to see it with home automation at some point.