Social Impact of Computers - Coursework Example

Social impact of computers (Institution) (Name) (Course) Date of submission Introduction Technological development dates back to the time man began converting natural resources into simple tools. However, it is modern technology that has significantly improved man’s life in the workplace and at home, economically, culturally and socially. Of all man’s technological innovations, computers have had the biggest impact, both negative and positive. Positivists believe that computers have brought about many social benefits and have transformed the world into a global village through the internet and brought about increased efficiency in many areas. Some of these areas include management, navigation, exploration, education, healthcare, telecommunication, engineering, gaming among others. On the other hand, critics claim that computers have built virtual walls between neighbors as individuals and countries have surrounded themselves with modern technology at the expense of paying attention to the needs of other people. They argue that individuals are keener on interacting with their peers over computers through the internet than creating physical human relations that are deemed healthier. In spite of the controversy over this issue, it is generally believed that computers have led to improvements in social life and socioeconomic status of the human race. This essay will demonstrate how computer use in modern times has affected man socially drawing support from an array of literature. Overview The invention of the computer marked a new era of man’s civilization. Currently, nearly every device found at home and, office uses a computer. While computer’s use and relevance is more apparent at the technical level, the fact that they have encroached on many areas of man’s life implies that their impact cannot be ignored. For instance, the modern fridge uses a computer to regulate temperatures; modern automobiles have computerized navigation systems and antilock breaking systems, mobile phones are literally small computers, social methods of research use software packages to analyze data, children now spend time on computer games than outdoor games, computers are used as teaching aids in schools and health records are stored in computers among other uses. Such varied impact of computers was unimaginable not so long ago. Consider this, in 1977 one Ken Olson, the founder of Digital Equipment claimed that “there is no reason anybody would want a computer in their home” (Berkun, 57). The then chairman of IBM, Thomas Watson, also criticized the use of computers in 1943 by saying that there is no market for computers. Fast forward into the 21st century, almost every individual has used a computer or a computer enabled device. Data from the 2000 U.S. census shows that 51% of American households own a computer and the numbers continue to rise (McCarrick & Xiaoming 2007). With computers becoming increasingly smaller and hence portable, more and more individuals own more than one. Computer games Computer games have been the biggest thing to hit the technology world in recent times after the internet. The games have been mostly linked to children and their development though the adult population is also well involved in the trend. The reason why they draw so much attention is because of the fact that they tend to occupy so much time for the players and that they are of various varieties from arcade to strategy. There has been a heated debate on the role of these games to the players. Effects have been both negative and positive with an acclaimed bias on the negative aspect. Away from “wasting time” the contents of the games have far reaching effects which this study lays emphasis on (McCarrick & Xiaoming 2007). The most controversial claim is that violent games tend to influence violent behavior and crime among young children. The children are so fascinated by the virtual world of the games that they try to replicate it in their real world ending up in crime and fatal accidents. The mystery surrounding effects of these games has baffled the game manufacturers, sociologist and even governments. In the UK, Lady Greenfield, director of the Royal Institution and leading neuroscientist presented a proposal in April this year to the government to fund a study into the impact of repeated use of computer games on brain development in young children. She hypothesized that kids who spend more than six hours a day playing computer games or on internet social sites have poor attention spans and lower inability to relate with others (Berkun 2010). The study also sought to know why the games are so attractive and addictive and why they can be replicated in the real life. While this is just one of the many studies that are being directed at learning the effects of these games, others have been conducted in various countries around the world. In essence, they all seem to indicate that video games are both beneficial and detrimental to the development of children and their learning (Morley & Parker 2009). However, with the modern trend of the game makers going for the more extreme games with a heavy inclination towards violence and hostility, these violent computer games are responsible for increased cases of violent sprees in schools that involve shooting and hostile behavior. This paper therefore, seeks to show that violent computer games are directly responsible for increased indiscipline and violence among school going children. Education Modern day educators are keen on using computers as teaching tools. Their use for this purpose has been welcomed and rejected by some sections of scholars. However, much of the resistance to the use of computers as a learning tool is discouraged for small children. Some scholars argue that computers lead to more effective thinking, problem solving and learning in young children (Morley & Parker 2009). Their interactive nature the demand for active participation by the users can be handy in helping children in recognizing symbols, pictures gestures and words. Proponents of computer use by children in learning argue that all computer use cannot be lumped together and wholly condemned. They acknowledge the fact that computers, and more so some computer games can hinder physical development of children as computers encourage long hours of non physical activities. Nonetheless, they argue that computers should be incorporated into the learning environment. In fact, a significant number of them argue that preschool children should be introduced to computers early enough as the next generations will be wholly reliant ion computers. Such views have been greatly opposed by a section of scholars who feel that computers are not beneficial as an educational tool especially for young children. They claim that computers are physically, socially and intellectually inappropriate for children. They argue that children should not be hurried into the adult world of computers. This indicates a level acceptance in computer use as an educational tool for adult tools. As per the opponents, when children are introduced to computers in the early stages, they are literally introduced into the world of pornography and violence and vulgar content available on the internet if necessary parental control measures are not put in place. Although no research has been conducted to verify this, some scholars claim that computers cause social isolation. Morley and Parker (2008) on the other hand dispute this to say that computers and the internet have created a new platform through which people can interact. Social networks set the patterns in real life interactions as people make new friends in the privacy of their computers. Online transactions Computes have revolutionalised the way people do business. In modern terms, the term online shopping is very common among the technology savvy. This involves users who have access to computers or internet enabled devices to do their shopping from the comfort of their homes or offices from online stores. Virtual stores such as e-Bay and Amazon are very popular among online shoppers. Conventional physical stores such as Wal-Mart and Deacons are being forced by competition and changes in consumer tastes to open online stores. This has had monumental impact on the social scene in terms of shopping. In the past, not so long ago, shopping was a past time and leisure activity. Individuals and families could travel abroad to fashion cities such as Rome and Paris to do shopping. With the arrival of online shopping, such activities are greatly threatened. Individuals are more comfortable to do window shopping from the screens of their computers and tablets in their homes, office or even camp sites. The social value associated with shopping is gradually waning. The social interactions and chit chats associated with shoppers in stores, supermarkets and fashion stores are threatened. In this era of computers and online shopping, shoppers have new platforms to interact, blogs and product review websites (Hassanein & Head 2007). On these platforms, shoppers exchange their views on particular products as opposed to doing it on telephone or one-on-one conversations. Fraud and identity theft For business owners, this can be very damaging. It is apparent that credit cards as well as debit cards can be used wrongly use in the names of the company directors and managers. In addition, customer information can be stolen from the company. This could result to the loss of valuable customers as prospective customers fear their personal data is vulnerable to attack. According to mainstream media, reports pertaining to attacks on companies’ information technology systems and breaches on their security systems have been on the increase though some companies are unwilling to divulge such information to the public in a bid to protect their image and brand. Fraudsters are stealing consumers’ credit cards via sloppy internal management and as a result the customers are exposed to the threat of identity fraud (Berkun 2010). With the huge explosion of the enterprise websites which currently provide suitable e-commerce, the fraudsters’ variety of opportunity to exploit the poorly protected information technology systems is increasing. Increased financial theft has been reported by numerous financial institutions and individuals around the world. Online financial theft is the ability of fraudsters to steal money, buy products and services using a credit card and/or obtain a loan using someone’s identity. Due to the fact that there is no proof of document in the United Kingdom, the fraudsters are looking for various pieces of personal information collectively, for instance date of birth, mother's maiden name, bank account number and sort code, utility bills with address details and so on (Berkun 2010). Using these elements of a person’s identity, it becomes very easy to obtain other personal details from other sources. When a fraudster is using someone’s identity, the lenders cannot identify between the real person and the fraudster as the transaction is done online (McCarrick & Xiaoming 2007). This makes it very difficult for the individuals to know what is happening and before they realize it is already too late. Communication- social networks Man is a social animal. This is one aspect that has received the most significant impact from computers. Today, Facebook and Twitter rule the lives of the Y2K generation. Both the young and the old are more informed about their online friends who could happen to be thousands of miles away than their next door neighbor, courtesy of computers. Since the invention of the internet, social communication and networks have had a revolution. Researchers have explored in depth how Facebook has influenced interactions among the youth especially of the name ‘friends’ as used in Facebook. These supposedly vital friends could be friends in real life or just virtual friends. Such relationships transcend national, cultural and geographical boundaries. Online communities do not thrive in Facebook and Twitter alone. Blogs are also a new element in the online social network scene. Their influence has been phenomenal as they allow the sharing of ideas in real time. Most recently, the revolutions that rocked Egypt were cited as having used social networking immensely, especially Facebook, to gather support and call for political activism in the predominantly Muslim country. The result was the removal of an allegedly corrupt government regime. Without computers and the internet, such developments would have been unimaginable. Conclusion Social life, be it in interactions communication education and shopping have all been affected by the increased use of computers more so after the invention of the internet. The role of computers in the day to day to life is bound to increase with time. How man manages to use these gadgets now and in the future will impact heavily on the quality of life itself. Education experts have acknowledged the critical role computers play in games and as a teaching tool. The same computers have created more avenues to spread vice in the society. Through computers, pornographic materials are more readily available to children. The ordinary American citizen who has accepted a computerized society in online shopping is more prone to theft and fraud. All these are the repercussions of the invention of computers. Despite the several ways that computers have affected the world socially, their benefits are phenomenal. References Anderson, C., Gentile, D., and Buckley, K. Violent video game effects on children and adolescents: theory research and public policy, London: OUP, 2007. Berkun, S. The myths of innovation. New York, O'Reilly Media, Inc, 2010. Hassanein, K. & Head, M. ‘Manipulating perceived social presence through the web interface and its impact on attitude towards online shopping.’ International journal of human-computer studies Vol. 65, No. 4, 689-708, 2007. McCarrick, K., & Xiaoming. ‘Buried treasure: The impact of computer use on young children’s social, cognitive, language development and motivation.’ AACE Journal, Vol. 15, No. 1, 73-95, 2007 Morley, D. & Parker, C. Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, Comprehensive. New York. Cengage Learning, 2009. Golder, S., Wilkinson, D. and Huberman, B. Rhythms of social interaction: messaging within a massive online network. Available from http://www.iisi.de/fileadmin/IISI/upload/C_T/2007/Golder.pdf Read More

The then chairman of IBM, Thomas Watson, also criticized the use of computers in 1943 by saying that there is no market for computers. Fast forward into the 21st century, almost every individual has used a computer or a computer enabled device. Data from the 2000 U.S. census shows that 51% of American households own a computer and the numbers continue to rise (McCarrick & Xiaoming 2007). With computers becoming increasingly smaller and hence portable, more and more individuals own more than one.

Computer games Computer games have been the biggest thing to hit the technology world in recent times after the internet. The games have been mostly linked to children and their development though the adult population is also well involved in the trend. The reason why they draw so much attention is because of the fact that they tend to occupy so much time for the players and that they are of various varieties from arcade to strategy. There has been a heated debate on the role of these games to the players.

Effects have been both negative and positive with an acclaimed bias on the negative aspect. Away from “wasting time” the contents of the games have far reaching effects which this study lays emphasis on (McCarrick & Xiaoming 2007). The most controversial claim is that violent games tend to influence violent behavior and crime among young children. The children are so fascinated by the virtual world of the games that they try to replicate it in their real world ending up in crime and fatal accidents.

The mystery surrounding effects of these games has baffled the game manufacturers, sociologist and even governments. In the UK, Lady Greenfield, director of the Royal Institution and leading neuroscientist presented a proposal in April this year to the government to fund a study into the impact of repeated use of computer games on brain development in young children. She hypothesized that kids who spend more than six hours a day playing computer games or on internet social sites have poor attention spans and lower inability to relate with others (Berkun 2010).

The study also sought to know why the games are so attractive and addictive and why they can be replicated in the real life. While this is just one of the many studies that are being directed at learning the effects of these games, others have been conducted in various countries around the world. In essence, they all seem to indicate that video games are both beneficial and detrimental to the development of children and their learning (Morley & Parker 2009). However, with the modern trend of the game makers going for the more extreme games with a heavy inclination towards violence and hostility, these violent computer games are responsible for increased cases of violent sprees in schools that involve shooting and hostile behavior.

This paper therefore, seeks to show that violent computer games are directly responsible for increased indiscipline and violence among school going children. Education Modern day educators are keen on using computers as teaching tools. Their use for this purpose has been welcomed and rejected by some sections of scholars. However, much of the resistance to the use of computers as a learning tool is discouraged for small children. Some scholars argue that computers lead to more effective thinking, problem solving and learning in young children (Morley & Parker 2009).

Their interactive nature the demand for active participation by the users can be handy in helping children in recognizing symbols, pictures gestures and words. Proponents of computer use by children in learning argue that all computer use cannot be lumped together and wholly condemned. They acknowledge the fact that computers, and more so some computer games can hinder physical development of children as computers encourage long hours of non physical activities. Nonetheless, they argue that computers should be incorporated into the learning environment.

In fact, a significant number of them argue that preschool children should be introduced to computers early enough as the next generations will be wholly reliant ion computers.

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