Communication Technology and Benefit to the Society - Research Proposal Example

Proposal on communication technology Mohammed Alhalabi (100485409) of Ontario Institute of Technology Table of Contents Introduction …………………………………………………………………………. 3 Literature review …………………………………………………………………….. 4 - 6 Introduction Communications technology has become our new master with a whip that keeps smacking us to keep up and keep moving. Human beings have relied on various methods to communicate with each other. These methods have depended on the progress science had made at that time. Thousands of years ago people were communicating with each other by hand written documents. In the 14th century they started the block printing and they were satisfied with it. They thought that they were consuming time by that until 1454 German goldsmith Johannes Gutenberg invented a printing machine that contained movable blocks which led the world to the book production and made the books affordable and accessible. After that in the 18th century people were introduced to telegraphs. The telegraphs consumed more time for them. Even though, it take weeks to receive it people back then were impressed with that innovation. Then an American inventors Elisha Grey and Alexander Graham Bell transformed speech into an electrical signal which called telephones. Today people are using digital technology such as smart phones and laptops where they can communicate and share documents with each other faster than ever. Moreover, communication technology is leading the whole world and lighting our minds broadly. It simply changed the way we operate and made us rely on it in terms of education, business, politics, interpersonal interactions and crisis responses…etc. However, the appeal of communication technology today is drawing in more young people and this is causing them to develop a dependency on the technology Literature review It has proven beneficial to the society in many ways by improving communication, access to information, entertainment and allowing us to work faster and easier, it has also chained us to its devices. However, many believe that this is not so bad and that technology has made us better humans as it gives us “greater freedom, creativity, leisure and productivity…” (Dholakia et al, pg. 2). In other words, the society has benefitted a lot from technology by helping to improve our lives in many ways. In particular, communications technology has exposed us to convenience and ease never thought of before. Secondly, the economic benefit for the country by the communication technology. According to Matthew drake "wealth creation and rural income opportunities quantifies the wealth creation and distribution of wealth arising from cell phone companies” (Drake, 2007 pg.72). Which means it can raise a country’s income by a method of communication technology. Furthermore, it can be a source of income for some of them. Lastly, use the communication technology due to educational purposes. Today we are mostly depending on them to deal with our educational life. An article written by Robert Trelese noted” As studied by social and behavioral scientists, diffusion of innovations (DOI) is the complex process by which new technologies become incorporated into daily use (Rogers, 2004). A good example of diffusion from the mid-1990s, familiar to most anatomists, is the progressive, pervasive adoption of the personal computer (PC), multimedia, and the World Wide Web for anatomical informatics and educational use” (Trelease, 2008. Pg.243). At the same time, the negative effects of communications technology cannot be ignored and these get greater in number as more people in the society adopt these technologies. First, Communication technology has a negative effect on behavior. In fact, pediatric occupational therapist, Cris Rowan noted, “that advancing technology has contributed to an increase of physical, psychological and behavior disorders that the health and education systems are just beginning to detect, much less, understand. One in six children has a diagnosed developmental disability, one in six obese, and 14.3% have a diagnosed psychiatric disorder. Diagnoses of ADHD, autism, coordination disorder, sensory processing disorder, anxiety, depression and sleep disorders can be casually linked to technology overuse and are increasing at an alarming rate” (Rowan, pg. 1). These disorders point to a wide range of behavioral disorders on which communication technologies have been blamed. Therefore, shifting from more physical activity to more entertainment-based online activity with the new devices have had a negative impact on the health and normal development in the society. Another negative effect on behavior of Communication technology is the participation in illegal activity of sharing pornographic pictures and videos. According to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy (NCPTUP), over 20% of the 1280 teens and young adults surveyed revealed that they sent or posted nude or semi-nude photographs or videos of themselves to others (NCPTUP, 2008). The report further show that even though they know that posting these kinds of images can be harmful to them and have very bad resulting effects, almost 40% of teens and 60% of young adults reported that they did it anyway because it is fun. Lastly, Communication technology causes a lack of relationships. According to psychologist Doreen Dodgen-Magee, “the two findings that have been proven are the increased use of technology leads to decreased family talk time and decreased social practice” (Magee, 2010). The psychologist is referring to the natural socialization of mammals where parents teach their young all the necessary things about life so they can live independently. This is what is happening to young people today as communication technologies have been replacing the “social practice” that families should have. This also leads to poor relationship skills as children are not taught or the families do not practice enough social interaction. Their development now follows a different path as Dr. Magee explains, “The biggest impact in the neurological area, that we’ve been able to see through new real-time brain scanning technologies, is that there really is a different pattern of firing that is occurring in the brains of individuals who are completely plugged in” (Magee, 2010). The society will end up having members who do not develop the same way and so cannot communicate well among themselves. In short, technology is changing the way young people grow up and socialize. All in all, Communication technology has an effect on normal social development by using it all the time however, people must reduce the time they spend on that technology and start learning to communicate and develop relationships with others. This is also affecting how they relate to co-workers in the workplace as they do not know how to communicate face to face. Schools and universities should also increase the amount of time spent away from technology, so children and young adults can fully engage in more physical and creative activities. Therefore, while these technologies can provide the society with many benefits, the society must realize how important the communication technology in our life and at the same time they must realize that it has a negative affects when overusing it. Proposal Lately, communication technology has been a center of attention for a lot of companies and individuals. Furthermore, there have been a lot of studies about the effect of communication technology on economy or business world (D. Matthew, 2007, Ewalt, David M, 2003). Also there have been a lot of studies how to develop it in order to reach a multi task device. When we talk about communication technology in the 21st century, it means we are talking about a new world of technology that most of the world is depending on. Moreover, there is a lot of concern about communication technology and young people behavior However, there was not a lot of focus on communication technology impacts on young people in terms of addiction and I would like to examine this gap. Although communication technology is one of the greatest inventions by the human being, there are some gaps exist, especially in terms of the side effects of communication technology. The researches focused on developing that technology. The world must admit that even though, that technology is contributing the society, there are a lot of side effects on us. The communication technology companies must care about the consumer primarily. That technology has a lot if side effects on the society. Research question The dawn of technology has made it more appropriate for every nation and ordinary people to improve their efficiency as well as output by manifolds. Technology has offered a new way of doing things and as such increased the productivity and reduced time to accomplish various tasks.. Along with technology, communication technologies have improved too by connecting people with each other. Improved communication technologies have made it possible for the society to not only communicates at much larger speed but at very low cost also. The low cost and the speed with which communication can takes place therefore has had the major impact on the way peoples’ lives are now shaped. Communication technologies have made the modern world a hub of connecting people across the globe. What is however, also important to understand that communication technology has made it more difficult for people to get rid of it. The excessive use of technology has made people extensively depending upon it and thus has side effects which can have an impact on the mental and emotional health of the individuals. The research question of this study therefore is whether the use of communication technologies can have an impact on the emotional and mental health of the individuals. Further, this research study will also primarily focus on understanding the relationship between communication technology and people and how it can results into addiction. Hypothesis Considering the overall research objectives and questions, this research study will focus upon the relationship between the communication technology and people and how it creates addictions. By clearly assessing the relationship between technology and the addiction, this research study hypothesises that such relationship may not be entirely beneficial for the individuals using such technology. The overall hypothesis of this research study is: “There is a strong relationship between communication technology and people in terms of addiction, because most of them cannot leave without their cell phones or laptops and that should be resource of concern.” The above hypothesis will be based upon assumption that communication technology can have a negative impact on the humans and creates addiction which may be relatively difficult to overcome. This is to suggest that excessive use of communication technology may have an impact on various aspects of life including personal relationships, health as well as financial resources. This paper will therefore focus upon developing the understanding of how a better and more balanced use of technology can help individuals to live an improved life. This research study also hypothesizes that by reducing the interaction or use of communication technology, people specially youth can get over this addiction. The overall hypothesis is based upon assessing the strong relationship between communication technology and people in terms of addiction. Theoretical Framework Based on Quan-Haase (2013) explains the concept of determinism in to theoretical views. First, Technological determinism and that shows that the technology is leading us as society and culture. Second, social determinism and that shows the consequences of the technology use on the society.  The communication technology is a thought of as determinism because the communication technology used in most of the fields in a positive way. However, communication technology is leading the society by overusing it even when it is not necessary needed. Cell phones can be used for educational purposes by downloading applications that are connected to the student’s class (R, Trelease, 2008). In the other hand, Because of the new applications and services on cell phones, there is a huge risk on pedestrians in colleges and universities (Stavrinos, Byington, Schwebel, 2011). Furthermore, based on a survey done by Platzer, Petrovic and Wolf Rauch (2010) on 101 participants, it shows that most of them cannot quit using mobile phones for friends, work, family and leisure. In other words, they are addicted to it. According to Quan-Haase (2013) Technological determinism shows technology as the driving force. From that point my research question was how communication technology is leading our society in both positive and negative ways. Furthermore, he illustrates that the social determinism effects on development and use. Therefore, I predicted that communication technology has an inverse impact on the society in terms of being addicted to it instead of using it as a support tool. Quantitative Research Methods The article “Problematic mobile phone using among the Polish and Belarusian University students, a comparative study” used the quantitative research methods in order to assess the impact of problematic mobile phone usage in Polish and Belarusian university students. The researchers took a sample of 160 students from Belarus and 227 students from Poland. Data was collected through questionnaire being distributed to the students and their responses were measured for mobile phone addiction.1 (E, Kułak W, Stryzhak A, Szpakow A, Prokopowicz W, & Marcinkowski J.T, 2012) Time Magazine also conducted a survey of over 5000 persons belonging to different ethnicities and nations to measure the impact of the smartphone use on. The data was collected through a survey methodology to collect the data. This quantitative research study however was performed online and the sample size was based upon respondents from different developed and developing countries. (Gibbs, 2012) One of the key differences between the two studies and data collection methodologies is that one study was based upon collecting responses through a questionnaire. The fundamental difference between the two therefore is data collection methodology used. There is a critical difference between collecting data through the questionnaires and collecting data through conducting online polls and surveys. Apart from this, one quantitative research study focused upon a narrow range of samples chosen from just two nationalities whereas the study conducted by Times comprises of samples taken from different nationalities in order to explore as to how the mobile phone usage results into addiction in young users at global level. Qualitative Research Methods An article published in WebMD titled “Addicted to Your Smartphone? Heres what to Do” indicates as to how the growing number of people are using smartphones and other communication technologies to pre-occupy themselves. The article outlines as to under what conditions and circumstances people use their smartphones. The data has been collected using a survey methodology and evaluating and surveying existing research studies done on the topic. As such, this article clearly provides a qualitative research methods for collecting data and adapting the correct methodology at outline the results of various research studies done. (Davis) Another study asked students to live without communication technology for a period of 24 hours. It was observed that students felt the same symptoms as that of drug addiction while remaining away from the technology. The overall symptoms observed suggested that the students started to observe the same symptoms which smokers face when they try to quit smoking. This study used data collection method of survey and observation wherein the participants were measured against their overall responses towards the non-use of technology. (Salzburg Academy on Media and Global Change, 2010) Both these studies used the observation and survey as the data collection methods. However, one article provides the overview of the results of various studies undertaken in this regard whereas other study outlines the observation as a major method of collecting data for the study. Both these studies therefore are fundamentally different from each other in terms of how they collect the data and what methodologies are being used to analyse and collect the data for the purpose of research. Discussion The existing literature on the topic and the various studies conducted clearly outline the importance of how technology has actually crippled the modern society. What is also critical to note that the communication technology has mostly affected the young people thus making them more vulnerable to the addictions as well as other issues to deal with? Research studies also suggest that the higher level of interaction with technology also results into learning disabilities and withdrawal. As such technology is not only resulting into the addictive behavior but also created other serious disabilities hampering learning abilities. The existing research studies focused on not only understanding as to how technology is creating the addiction but are also focusing on the health aspects of the technology usage. More importantly, communication technologies are creating learning disabilities forcing youths to face challenges in terms of improving their learning abilities. The symptoms shown suggest that the technology users face the same symptoms which are being faced by smokers when trying to quit smoking or other addictions. The available literature therefore provides ample evidence that the research needs to be done on further understanding the relationship between technology and the impact it can have on the mental and emotional health of the individuals and how it can create addictions. This research will therefore also focus upon how technology can be optimally used to avoid such addictions in future. Conclusion The above discussion suggests that technology has a definite impact on the emotional and physical health of the individuals and also creates addiction. The excessive use of communication technology is not only creating addictive behaviors but can also be detrimental to the overall health and well-being of the individuals. By performing a research study, researcher aims to develop a comprehensive understanding of exploring the relationship between the communication technology and the addiction. This research study will focus upon exploring that relationship and outline as to how to overcome such addictive behaviors. Annotated bibliography Trelease, R, B. (2008). Diffusion of innovations: Smartphones and wireless Anatomy learning resources.Ed 1:233–239. In the article “Diffusion of innovations: Smartphones and wireless Anatomy learning resources”, written by Robert Trelease. Discussing about the new media and devices and how it became mostly adopted by students in relation with Anatomy or education. It was found the most students were disturbed by I pods and work alike devices for podcasting an so on. Therefore, it disturbed the educational system the most. However, smartphones such as blackberry were less used for anatomical learning resources. All in all, the author expecting the students to improve new devices with multiplatform “learn anywhere” option. Horrey, W, J. & Wickens, C, D. (2006). Examining the Impact of Cell Phone Conversations on driving Using Meta-Analytic Techniques. The Jounal Ergonomics Society of the Human Factors and ergonomics society. pp. 196-205. A survey was applied on the performance that costs associated with cell phone use while driving were assessed meta-analytically using standardized measures of effect size along five dimensions. The result was that there was an obvious cost due to the driving performance while using cell-phones. However, those costs were tolerated primarily by reaction time tasks, smaller costs associated with tracking performance. In the end, it was suggested that there are significant costs to driver reactions to external hazards or events associated with cell phone use, hands-free cell phones do not eliminate or substantially reduce these costs, and different research methodologies or performance measures may underestimate these costs. Mallat, N. & Tuunainen, V.K. (2008). Exploring Merchant Adoption of Mobile Payment Systems: An Empirical Study. e-Service Journal, PP. 24–57. The journal provides an analysis of merchant adoption of mobile payments system in Finland, which has long been one of the leading markets for mobile devices and services. Three different mobile transaction contexts are discussed – mobile commerce, remote commerce and point-of-sale. The authors describe various barriers to the adoption of mobile payments identified by retailers, e.g. cost, non-usage, lack of trust, lack of standardization. Prerequisites to the adoption of mobile payments are identified, e.g. the need for a viable payment infrastructure. Davis, S. (n.d.). Addicted to Your Smartphone? Heres What to Do. Retrieved April 05, 2013, from WebMD: http://www.webmd.com/balance/guide/addicted-your-smartphone-what-to-do This study is qualitative and general in nature and outlines as to how we are being addicted to the use of technology. This study has focused upon providing a review of various other studies to outline as to how the current research studies are focusing on addressing the issue of addiction and technology. E, K.-K., Kułak W, Stryzhak A, Szpakow A, Prokopowicz W, & Marcinkowski J.T. (2012). Problematic mobile phone using among the Polish and Belarusian. Prog Health Sci, 2(1), 45-50. This study is upon how the Polish and Belarusian university students are using technology and how they are being addicted to the same. This study is quantitative in nature and has undertaken a very small sample size to estimate the addictive behavior patterns related with the use of technology in university students. Gibbs, N. (2012, August 12). Your Life Is Fully Mobile. Retrieved April 04, 2013, from Time: http://techland.time.com/2012/08/16/your-life-is-fully-mobile/ This study was an international poll conducted by Time Magazine to explore as to how people interact with the technology. This survey was based upon 5500 respondents from various international respondents and concluded that major part of a person’s life is affected by the communication technology and its excessive use. Salzburg Academy on Media and Global Change. (2010, October 31). Unplugged: Living without the media. Retrieved April 05, 2013, from Salzburg Academy on Media and Global Change: http://www.salzburg.umd.edu/salzburg/new/news/unplugged-study-goes-globa This study was performed on students and indicates that those students who were sysmtematically withdrawn from the use of information technology showed symptoms which are being experienced by smokers willing to quit smoking. This study therefore provides a valid scientific basis of how technology is cerating addictive behaviors in individuals. References Dholakia, N. & Zwick, D. (2003). Mobile Technologies and Boundaryless Spaces: Slavish Lifestyles, Seductive Meanderings, or Creative Empowerment. Magee, D. (2010). How is technology shaping generation-y? Retrieved from: http://magazine.biola.edu/article/10-fall/how-is-technology-shaping-generation-y/ Rowan, C. (2009). The impact of technology on child sensory and motor development. S.I. Focus,Retrievedfrom:http://www.sifocus.com/files/The%20Impact%20of%20Technology Trelease, R, B. (2008). Diffusion of innovations: Smartphones and wireless Anatomy learning resources. Anat Sci Ed 1:233–239. Hruschka, J. (2008). Ordering Books: The Development Of A Modern American Book Trade Ed: 3325924.(pp. 143). Covey, S. (2001). The 7 Habits. Informally published manuscript, U.S.A. Retrieved from:http://www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst?docId=5002434127 Sullivan n eds. (2007). You Can Hear Me Now: How Microloans and Cell Phones are Connecting the Worlds Poor To the Global Economy. Michigan: Jossey-Bass,pp.72 Eldridge,M. (2001): A Study of Teenagers and SMS. Proceedings of Mobile Futures Workshop, Seattle. pp.117. Davis, S. (n.d.). Addicted to Your Smartphone? Heres What to Do. Retrieved April 05, 2013, from WebMD: http://www.webmd.com/balance/guide/addicted-your-smartphone-what-to-do E, K.-K., Kułak W, Stryzhak A, Szpakow A, Prokopowicz W, & Marcinkowski J.T. (2012). Problematic mobile phone using among the Polish and Belarusian. Prog Health Sci, 2(1), 45-50. Gibbs, N. (2012, August 12). Your Life Is Fully Mobile. Retrieved April 04, 2013, from Time: http://techland.time.com/2012/08/16/your-life-is-fully-mobile/ Salzburg Academy on Media and Global Change. (2010, October 31). Unplugged: Living without the media. Retrieved April 05, 2013, from Salzburg Academy on Media and Global Change: http://www.salzburg.umd.edu/salzburg/new/news/unplugged-study-goes-global Read More