Impacts of Communication Technology - Essay Example

Impacts of Communication Technology Communication technology has impacted our lives in so many ways. The term global village is now a reality, not just a theory. People from all over the world can communicate, see each other send each other documents, discuss ideas and even run businesses and perform jobs from thousands of miles away. Today, a life without faster communication is unimaginable. Without Internet and communication technology the 21st century is incomplete. People are so used to this technology that it has become a part of their lives and has shaped the future. Everything has its pros and cons and communication technology is no exception. With the broadband came too much information. Today, there is so much information available with just the click of the computer mouse that a person would have to travel from one city to another, accessing libraries, borrowing books and making notes in the older days. On the surface it is a good idea to help people in accessing free information but it has caused an information implosion. Both the parties; the one who is receiving information and the one who is sending information, have way too much leverage. This has given people the power to build or break narratives and movements with just a few clicks on their social media news dissemination campaigns. There is too much information available that it is very difficult now to separate the useful from the useless. Creating rumors and false information is becoming easier every day. People have almost lost track of what is important and what is not. The generation growing up in the age of communication technology is becoming addicted to information implosion. People keep scrolling and opening new windows on their computers in the hopes of finding something interesting. It has turned them into information junkie. This is bad because they are hoarding information clutter in their heads. They are focusing on the wrong things. Social media like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram probably bear the most responsibility for this noise and misunderstanding. Communication technology dimension allows everyone to have their say which also awards them the privilege to run campaigns and businesses. Every group on the social media wants attention and they do everything to attract the crowd. So they use tactics such as hooking people with gossip or tabloid news about celebrities and football players. People spend hours after hours reading and discussing something which has almost no impact on their lives. Social media makes trivial things make so important that people waste their time thinking or discussing about trivial things. The information noise also impacts the useful or true information that is supposed to reach people. With so much noise and news distortion it gets difficult for people to establish the truth. The line between reality and fiction is blurring. Anyone who wants to infect the public with information will use any means to cut through the competition to get attention. So it does not matter if they tell lies or truth as long as they are getting results they think they are doing fine. Communication technology is not only turning people into information junkies and promoting trivialization, it is creating a divide in the society. It is producing stereotypes by defining (confining) beauty, fashion and a normal life. This creates a gap between the rich and the poor. A person would log on to Facebook or Twitter and get blasted with information about the newest smart phone, tablet, laptop, Beyonce, Justine Bieber, or they would see a discussion going on about cars or real estate prices - anything that would be beyond that his/her financial capacity. The businesses promote discussions and news about latest technology gadgets because they want people to engage and spread the word. So, they can have more customers in their shops or online customers. When a poor man sees such ads on Facebook/Twitter and notices his friends discussing to buy an expensive product he will feel inferior and eventually will go into depression because of not being able to buy it. The main difference between the reaction of the rich and the poor on an upcoming gadget is the rich will go and buy the product and feel excited about it, while the poor will feel depressed and simply not worthy enough to be able to own that product. Wearing technology and other technological gadgets has become a status symbol. A person who owns the latest smart phone is considered worthy and part of the mainstream culture. On the other hand the person who wants to become part of this culture but simply cannot afford to, feels left out. Since phones in specific are one of the greatest gadgets of the 21st-century they also have the greatest impact on people. Phones have definitely curbed the gap between people. But it is also true that with such easy access of communication people tend to avoid others in a social setting. They usually do it by having divert call option active on their phone for certain people. They would like to send a birthday wish on Facebook or Twitter than to meet this friend in person and give a physical gift sharing the happiness with this person. Such communication technology has hooked people onto machines (laptop, phones etc.) like zombies. They would miss the sunrise, the sunset and the natural beauty of the world because they are so busy gawking at their phone screen or computer. The technology is controlling people when it should be the other way round. It is creating divide in the society. The gap between the rich and the poor is not only limited to a society, the whole world is the victim of this divide because it is also creating the gap between the developed world and the underdeveloped world. Countries that have access to computers and better Internet have a more connected society. Their lives have been transformed through easy access of information. On the other hand the developing countries that do not have those technological facilities to give to their people feel inferior to the developed country. They simple become the followers of any trend that is given to them by the developed world. Technology is not the only thing that impacts societies and the global divide. Information about other things such as food is also effecting peoples lives. A trend is picking up where people who have more money in their pockets also have more knowledge about organic products and healthy foods. They would invest in farms or the farmers market to buy only those products that are clean from pesticides and harmful fertilizers. While on the other hand a poor person would put anything in his mouth if he can afford it. The poor will not care much about the calorie count, fertilizers and pesticides. The need to fill the stomach overcomes every other concern. The rich on the other hand have the time and the leverage to get the knowledge about the food and spend money on better food items. The poor do not have the resources to buy healthy food. This indicates food insecurity where a poor person does not know when he can afford a good meal the next time. So, they feed themselves with whatever they can afford. This means they would buy gluten rich food because it is cheaper and provides instant energy. However it also makes them fat and creates other diseases because of so much intake of sugar and gluten. A simple example is it is easier to buy a McDonalds burger than to buy a healthy bowl of organic salad. Maybe the poor population does not have access to free information because of the lack of technological facilities. Technology, or communication technology in particular, is not bad by its nature. The use and abuse of it makes it good or bad. Technology has given so much to the mankind. The human race is becoming more intelligent, well-connected and knowledgeable than they were 200 years ago. However there are disadvantages that can be curbed through better policies and better strategies. For instance, information clutter and misinformation needs to be controlled by an entity like social media police or an audit committee. Being well-connected also gives awareness to the people of developed countries to contribute towards international welfare. So, that the countries who do not access to better foods and technology can improve their living standards. This will bring more equality in the society. Read More