Social Impacts of Computers to Todays World - Essay Example

Social Impacts of Computers to Today’s World Table of Contents Introduction 3 Impacts of Computers to Modern Life 4 Impacts on Learning and Academics 5 Impacts on Social Interactions and Entertainment 6 Health Impacts 6 Economy and Money Matters 7 Vulnerability of Adult Content to Children 8 As has been expressed here above, the computer has created wealth to very many people all over the world and the trend continues. Pornography is a hot cake in the internet; in fact, it is billion worth of industry, generating a lot wealth. However, the world is choking with it due to the immoral nature in which it will affect children and young adults. Typing any words related to copulation will give billions of search results, which will redirect the user to locations where they can be retrieved. In the United States alone, 50 million people access pornographic web pages daily, and about 40 percent of them are teens and pre-teens. Pornographic materials provide the wrong kind of teaching materials to children regarding issues related to sex. 8 Conclusion 9 References 10 Anil, A. (2007). Impact of Computer on Society. Retrieved from http://tech.aakarpost.com/2007/11/impact-of-computer-on-society.html 10 Hahn, D. J (2013). This Man Used Google Maps to Find His Way Back Home 25 Years After He Was Lost as a Boy. Retrieved from http://www.complex.com/tech/2013/10/google-maps-boy-lost 10 Karavidas, M., Lim, N. K., & Katsikas, S. L. (2005). The effects of computers on older adult users. Computers in Human Behavior, 21(5), 697-711. 10 Introduction Modern life is virtually dependent on computers and these points to the huge impacts computers have on modern life. Computers are used in many different areas such as in business, design, medicine, military amongst other a multifunctional roles. One of the greatest leaps in development of human beings has been because of the widespread usage of computers. In fact, the computer is the single greatest piece of technology in the 20th century and as such, they have been associated with certain social impacts. Modern life has borne the brunt of the benefits and negative impacts the usage of computers have impacted the world. The social impacts have been magnanimous across a variety of aspects such as; health, communication, social interactions. The usage of computers has enabled daily tasks and activities to be done in a fast, quick and convenient manner, changing lives completely. Simple tasks such as typing of documents, designing slide shows, music and art use computers. The internet, an application developed to enhance interconnectivity of computers has led to widespread manifestations of the social impacts of the computers in modern life. Billions of people across the globe have access to the internet using it to accomplish different tasks. In fact, the internet has emerged as the melting point of different cultures in today’s world. Development of the computer and the internet has been the forerunner to the development of mobile computing, which has practically placed the world on its toes. This paper explores the social impacts of computers on modern life, and focuses on the benefits and the shortcomings. The exploration into the impacts of computers in today’s world is very wide and as a result, this paper will attempt to exhaust them as much as possible but shall ignore the cursory impacts. Impacts of Computers to Modern Life Positive impacts of computers encompass daily lives in education, health, personal interactions and entertainment, professional life, academics and the general social behavior. Furthermore, the impacts touch on the general economy as well as money matters, outlining the importance of computers to every sphere of human life, according to Liffick (1995) computer amplified the effects of other technologies. The emphasis on the social impacts will be considered within such confines and shall include economic and other impacts of computers in today’s world. Privacy and Security Computers have assisted law enforcement officers in their daily operations. In the past, criminals were anonymous, but lately, search engines have made it easier for them to get hold of these anonymous criminals at the click of a button. However, for the law abiding members of the public, the security of their personal information has come out as a great concern and has caused anxiety and worry. Computers have made it practically difficult for individuals to control their personal information and as time goes by computers that are more powerful are being built; therefore, information dissemination and storage will be slicker and faster. This means that problems related to information storage and dissemination would increase many folds, including privacy related problems. Privacy has emerged as some of the controversial issues concerning computer usage in modern times. This is because computers are a medium of information dissemination, storage and such information can be retrieved. Personal and confidential matters that are very sensitive, for instance matters of national security are stored in computers. Others include bank account numbers, personal identification numbers, and credit card information, the amount one pays in taxes, medical history, and physical attributes among others. There is always a threat that organizations, institutions, individuals and state apparatus might have access to such information to the detriment of an individual, organization or even the government. In recent history, the government of the United States has suffered considerable embarrassment as a result of some crucial confidential and sensitive information regarding its foreign escapades being released to the media. Huge strides are being developed in personal computing to address privacy issues; one of the major developments is the advances in biometrics- this ensures that biological features are used when accessing personal information. Fingerprints and the iris will be used to access personal computers and thus address privacy issues. Impacts on Learning and Academics Computer has revolutionized learning, in the past students spends a lot of time combing through manual catalogue of books looking for their preferred choice. However, these books are available at the click of a button once a search has been initiated. One can therefore assert that the computer has increased the mental capacity of students, as they are able to access a lot of information within a very short time. Therefore, comparatively students who access computers are knowledgeable than their counterparts who do not have access to computers. Word processing applications have enabled neat and well presentation of academic works, thus generally improving on the academic status of students. The computer has provided a platform enabling easier accessibility of a wealth of information; as a result, physical movements to the libraries have been reduced. Online dictionaries and databases of organizations and institutions provide options to students, staffs and the public to easily access information. The major drawback associated with computers in the learning process is the widespread plagiarism of online contents by students. Impacts on Social Interactions and Entertainment According to Karavidas, Lim & Katsikas, (2005) older adults’ usage of computers leads to engagement in more social activities. Social interactions have perhaps provided a popular acclamation of the impact of computer to modern life. Social networking sites such as facebook, twitter, YouTube and Google plus amongst others have more than billion users. The pace of communication and information flow is high and easy thus a person, who for instance, is in Japan, can easily befriend and interact with another in the United States. Social networking sites and blogging sites have introduced new dynamics to information dissemination. These media are exceptionally faster than mainstream media forms Ferguson & Perse (2000) acknowledge television others are radio and newspaper. Information are shared within seconds that they have been unearthed Additionally, long lost friends and family members reconnect using application tools aforementioned. It has been reported that an individual who got lost as young boy found his long lost relatives and home through Google maps-a computer application that uses computer and satellite technologies to developing maps(Hahn, 2013). Computer games, development of movies, and music development have enjoyment tremendous success because of the increasing reliance on computer and computer application. In the past, people had to rush to physical stores to purchase music and movies, while currently music and movie enthusiasts purchase their favorite movies and music on online stores. In addition, graphics have been hugely employed in the process of movie making to a very success rate, for instance, the science fiction genre which relies heavily on computer effects (Anil, 2007). Health Impacts Computer usage has led to immense medical benefits (Aydin, 2005). Presently a percentage of people who are able to access the internet conduct personal diagnosis using the internet, besides, computers have been massively used in conducting crucial medical research. The research findings have been used in improving health status of millions of people around the globe (Rosenberg, 2004). Actually, the more time an individual spends on the computer, the less frequency the individual might engage in physical activities and this can lead to serious negative health, such as weight gain and certain visual defects. Computer vision syndrome was coined to refer to the visual defect that arises because of long-term usage of computers In addition, back strains, shoulder, strains and neck strains and other additional injuries results from continuous usage of computers. Certain medical reports have associated stress levels and general health levels on high computer dependency. Economy and Money Matters In the developed world, reliance on physical cash has been almost been eliminated, with computer based transactions being pre-dominant. Overall, traditional forms crimes such as robbery are on the decline being replaced with sophisticated methods. In addition, the advent of computer has heralded one of the key drivers to the rapid development of economies and globalization of the world. The highly thriving computer based transactions has led to complex cyber based criminal activities. Hacking, frauds and other forms of cybercrimes have taken root in this new dispensation. Britcoin has been set to be the next big thing as it sets evolutionary forms transactions, through the elimination physical exchanges. Frequently ignored is the role of computers in creating more job opportunities in computer and related fields. Computers have led to high generation of wealth, as a matter of fact, computer and related disciplines has lead top the fastest growth of millionaires and billionaires. Some of the world acclaimed billionaires who have derived their wealth and status through computers include: Bill gates of Microsoft; mark Zukerberg of facebook; Larry Page and Sergey Brin of Google amongst a growing list. On the flipside, computers have created un deserving lots of millionaires who used their criminal ingenuity to fleece the public Vulnerability of Adult Content to Children As has been expressed here above, the computer has created wealth to very many people all over the world and the trend continues. Pornography is a hot cake in the internet; in fact, it is billion worth of industry, generating a lot wealth. However, the world is choking with it due to the immoral nature in which it will affect children and young adults. Typing any words related to copulation will give billions of search results, which will redirect the user to locations where they can be retrieved. In the United States alone, 50 million people access pornographic web pages daily, and about 40 percent of them are teens and pre-teens. Pornographic materials provide the wrong kind of teaching materials to children regarding issues related to sex. Children and adolescents are vulnerable to finding highly pornographic materials especially when they access the internet. These highly explicit adult materials can morally pollute the minds of children and adolescents, obscuring their attitude and perceptions towards copulation and nature in general. Pornographic addiction in children may affect their psychological development, which in turn will affect their perception on gender relations and sexual orientation. Other information that might be accessible through the internet includes the potential availability of drugs. Conclusion The social impact of computers to today’s life cannot be understated. The impacts are immense, and are reflected by the huge diversity of the applicability of computers to daily human activities. Businesses, military, medical fields, design and in very many other fields. The advent of computer has signaled some of the drivers of economies aiding in rapid modernization of countries. In fact, the level of development of countries is exhibited by the level of technological advancement, which in turn is precisely what computers have been developed to show. On the educational fronts, learning materials are easily accessible through the internet, online libraries and databases provide links to such information; therefore, the only drawback is the widespread online plagiarism of copyrighted materials. Widespread downloading of music through online stores has been very beneficial has it has reduced the hustle and bustle associated with the dash to physical stores. Health impacts mostly affect users of computers especially issues to do with eye problems, back strains, and other injuries that affects people who are continually exposed to computers. Virtual transactions have replaced cash based forms, revolutionizing businesses, though such developments have been negated by the hugely thriving online crimes. Pornography is also another thriving web based business, which is worth billions of dollars; children have higher risks of accessing these materials hampering their moral developments. References Anil, A. (2007). Impact of Computer on Society. Retrieved from http://tech.aakarpost.com/2007/11/impact-of-computer-on-society.html Aydin, C. E. (2005). Survey Methods for assessing social impacts of computers in healthcare organizations. Evaluating the Organizational Impact of Healthcare Information Systems, 75-128. Ferguson, D. A., & Perse, E. M. (2000). The World Wide Web as a functional alternative to television. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 44(2), 155-174. Hahn, D. J (2013). This Man Used Google Maps to Find His Way Back Home 25 Years After He Was Lost as a Boy. Retrieved from http://www.complex.com/tech/2013/10/google-maps-boy-lost Karavidas, M., Lim, N. K., & Katsikas, S. L. (2005). The effects of computers on older adult users. Computers in Human Behavior, 21(5), 697-711. Liffick, B. W (1995) Social Impact Characteristics of Computer Technology. Retrieved from http://cs.millersville.edu/~liffick/compchar.html Rosenberg, R. S. (2004). The social impact of computers. Boston: Academic Press. Read More