Impact Of I.C.T
The advance of I.C.T has
had a tremendous impact on the way people in the developed world carry out
and do things in their daily lives. Whether at home, in the office, out and
about or even on holiday I.C.T has a part to play in one way or another.
I believe, however,
that the impact goes even deeper. I.C.T has affected the very roots of
society. Civil rights, the way decisions are made and most legislation all
now have a ‘digital dimension’.
In this section of the
e-book, I will attempt to provide a clear picture of life in the Information
Age. I have chosen the following five areas of life which have felt the effects of the impact of I.C.T
and will focus on how they have been affected on a personal, professional and
social level.
1. Working
styles
2. Communication
3. Banking/shopping
4. Decision
making
5. Society.
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THE POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE IMPACTS OF I.C.T
As it is known from time
immemorial that everything in life is like the two side of a coin, there is
always a positive and negative side of every phenomenon. But whether the effect
is positive or negative the effects of Information Communication Technology
(I.C.T) is far reaching and cannot be overemphasized. The Effects of I.C.T
lens looks at how our lives have been changed, for better and for worse, by the
impact of I.C.T. It includes both positive effects and negative effects and looks
at how individuals organisations and society are affected.
I.C.T CAN HAVE POSITIVE IMPACTS
ON PEOPLE
§ Access to information: Possibly the greatest effect of I.C.T on
individuals is the huge increase in access to information and services that has
accompanied the growth of the Internet. Some of the positive aspects of this
increased access are better, and often cheaper, communications, such as VoIP phone
and Instant Messaging. In addition, the use of I.C.T to access information has
brought new opportunities for leisure and entertainment, the facility to make
contacts and form relationships with people around the world, and the ability
to obtain goods and services from a wider range of suppliers.
§ Improved access to education, e.g.
distance learning and on-line tutorials. New ways of learning, e.g. interactive
multi-media and virtual reality. New job opportunities, e.g. flexible and
mobile working, virtual offices and jobs in the communications industry.
§ New tools, new opportunities: The second big effect of I.C.T is that it gives
access to new tools that did not previously exist. A lot of these are tied into
the access to information mentioned above, but there are many examples of
stand-alone I.C.T systems as well:
a) I.C.T can be used for processes that had
previously been out of the reach of most individuals, e.g. photography, where
digital cameras, photo-editing software and high quality printers have enabled
people to produce results that would previously required a photographic studio.
b) I.C.T can be used to help people overcome
disabilities. e.g. screen magnification or screen reading software enables
partially sighted or blind people to work with ordinary text rather than
Braille.
NEGATIVE IMPACTS OF I.C.T ON
PEOPLE
§ Job loss: One of the largest negative effects of I.C.T can
be the loss of a person’s job. This has both economic consequences, loss of
income, and social consequences, loss of status and self esteem. Job
losses may occur for several reasons, including: Manual
operations being replaced by automation. e.g. robots replacing people on an
assembly line.Job export. e.g. Data processing work being sent to other
countries where operating costs are lower. Multiple workers being replaced by a
smaller number who are able to do the same amount of work. e.g. A worker on a
supermarket checkout can serve more customers per hour if a bar-code scanner
linked to a computerized till is used to detect goods instead of the worker
having to enter the item and price manually
§ Reduced personal interaction: Being able to work from home is usually
regarded as being a positive effect of using I.C.T, but there can be negative
aspects as well. Most people need some form of social interaction in their
daily lives and if they do not get the chance to meet and talk with other
people they may feel isolated and unhappy.
§ Reduced physical activity: A third negative effect of I.C.T is that users
may adopt a more sedentary lifestyle. This can lead to health problems such as
obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. Many countries have workplace regulations
to prevent problems such as repetitive strain injury or eyestrain, but lack of
physical exercise is rarely addressed as a specific health hazard.
