Computer: Historical and current impact on the economy etc - Assignment Example

Computer: Historical and current impact on the economy, the environment, relationships, education, and morals Lecturer Affiliation: Due Technology has changed the society over the years. Over the last few decades, iPads, iPods, cellular devices, computers, and most significant, the internet, have completely changed the way people interact in society. The 21st century society requires a technologically advanced individual and the 21st century classroom needs the Information has been spread throughout America in different ways. The computer has taken the shift towards technology and examples set by the industrial revolution of the 18th century to a new level. The advancement of the personal computer and the use of the internet have forced a change in society that will never look back. Developments all through history have happened to eventually make life easier on humans. Tools to aid cut and shape, or lift and move to make certain work more proficient (Mumford, 2010). Nevertheless, the focus has shifted to instruments that do not just make physical labor easier, but instruments that “modify and classify” information rather than merely transmitting it or protective it.” Computers help perform errands efficiently and effectively so that human error can be evaded. Even though computers were first used for big businesses and governments, it is currently common for private computers to be used on a regular basis. The shift caused by the use of personal computers has wedged the world in numerous different ways. There have been economic and social impacts that have impressively shifted the way the present-day American lives her or his life. There have been several influential and immense impacts on society because of the progress of the computer (Teich, 2008). Computers have had an incredibly positive effect on society. Because of the advancement of computers, space survey happened, vehicles were designed differently, the entertainment world became more engaging, and medical science made more therapies for diseases. The computers wedged society in numerous ways. Life became promptly easier. Some people say that computers are purging manpower, and that may be true, but computers did make the somewhat impossible possible. One area the computer wedged on is the commercial area. Business uses computers to keep track of money, accounts, and inventory. Another area the computer wedged is the entertainment industry. Computers made it possible to improve special effects and graphics. Education has changed because of modern day usage of computers in the classroom. Computers assist students in any way they desire, including typing, researching, and searching. Teachers use computers too. They use computers to record grades, type out teachings for their students, involve students in the classroom, and remain in contact with co-workers and parents (Huesemann, 20111). The development of the computer has affected the medical profession too. According to author and educator, Edwin Dolan, “calculations essential to medical research are being completed by computers at astounding speeds, a process that is increasing the probability of finding cures for severe illness.” Computers are used to aid perform surgeries, discover new medications, monitor patients, and also consolidate the data for medical delivery. There have been numerous positive results because of the introduction of computers into daily life. Nevertheless, not all the outcomes from the introduction of computers into society have been positive, as there are negative effects that go along with this development of technology as well (Dolan, 2010). One of the extensive impacts the computer has had on society is the way it has transformed social relations amongst people. Relationships amongst individuals have changed because of computers and the internet. Author Robert Kling suggests that “the means that individuals communicate and work through computer networks undermine many conformist social groups.” The usage of these relations takes place as if they are at different places but actually they are at their work or homes. These types of relations would have been only probable from in person meetings prior to this creation but because of the computer these limits have been unclear. Historian and writer Walter Mathews, takes Kling’s point of view a step further and discusses the different types of groups of people that either disagree or agree with the use of computers. Mathews places one collection of people as followers of 5th century B.C. leader Democritus of Greece, and the other cluster as factions of the belief of Socrates, a modern of Democritus. The followers of Democritus have no trouble in coming to terms with the computer. These people believe the computer is a novel species that must be intermingled with, they realize it is an intelligent machine, and they comprehend a “brain is a computer and a computer is a brain” and that both work jointly to progress society (Mathews, 1980). Alternatively, the followers of Socrates find it hard to comprehend the computer and feel threatened by it. These individuals are unwilling and unable to agree the computer as a brain and the brain as a computer and “assert upon the importance of qualities of human experience that have not at the moment been reduced expressively simply to extents, they read the literature on the computer inscribed by followers of Democritus and they dread for the future of human society. Mathews contends that people need to consent the computer and its abilities if there are going to be any progression of human society while existing with the new technology (Mathews, 1980). The social problems offered by the computer are easy to understand and see according to some writers on the topic. Nevertheless, why the computer has had the influence it has had must be appreciated when fully understanding all that the computer does to society. There are numerous characteristics which are deliberated factors in the social influence of computer technology. Computer is not value neutral, so to say, as it has been understood, but rather the computer and the development of technology holds grand changes to society that are far from neutral. References Dolan, E. G. (2010). Introduction to Macroeconomics 4th Edition . New York: BVT Publishing. Huesemann, M. a. (20111). Technofix: Why Technology Won’t Save Us or the Environment. New Society Publishers. Mathews, W. M. (1980). Monster or Messiah?: The Computers impact on society. Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi. Mumford, L. (2010). Technics and Civilization. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Teich, A. (2008). Technology and the Future. New York: Wadsworth Publishing. Wright, R. (2008). Technology. Goodheart-Wilcox Company. Read More