FDR BLOG

I.T has had an impact on almost every aspect of life in different ways, below are some of the many ways I.T has impacted different environments.

The individual

Social Media.

Social media is a key part of everyday life, it allows for easy communication, exploration, easy promotion for businesses and general entertainment.

The concept of being able to make friends thousands of miles away in a different country is great. Social media allows people from all over the world to have a voice, meaning that more people can be aware of ongoing situations worldwide. But with this freedom for anyone to have a voice comes a huge disadvantage.

With having a large social media following comes responsibility, and at times this is abused for many purposes including monetary gain, mental gain, and physical abuse. For example, the platform YouTube allows for content creators to upload videos of anything they like, there has been numerous accounts of these "content creators" abusing their platform for personal gain. One incident that shocked the internet was when a content creator by the name of "Logan Paul" filmed himself finding a dead body whilst exploring a forest in Japan. Instead of Logan reporting the body to the correct authorities he proceeded to use the incident for personal gains (Subscribers, likes, money). Luckily this incident stirred up a lot of backlash and the opposite happened to him.

Social media has a massive effect on young people's mental health. With applications like Snapchat pushing "beauty" filters onto people to fix natural "flaws" on their body. Actions like this make people doubt their own beauty, making them think that these "natural influencers" who use image altercation tools are the normal beauty standard.

Education.

I.T is a massive factor in education nowadays, from using the world wide web to research information to completing entire courses with the help of computing tools.

The benefits of I.T within educations are huge. During the 2020 covid-19 lockdowns computer software such as Microsoft teams allows for students to get a certain level of education without having to be in a physical classroom environment. This meant that students could still get an education without the risk of transmitting the Covid-19 virus.

The negatives of using I.T within education - With students being able to work/submit work remotely it opens an opportunity for cheating. For example, in a classroom a teacher can monitor what their students are doing, but whilst these students "work" behind a screen it allows them access to the world wide web where they can get question results instantly.

Gaming

Whilst games used to be played outdoors or using physical objects (football, chess, tennis). These can now all be done with a handheld controller or a keyboard & mouse.

Gaming has had a great impact on our day-to-day life. Connecting people all over the world, opening job opportunities, and allowing entertainment with ease. These things can help to build social confidence, coordination skills, and problem solving skills.

But with all these things come a massive negative impact both physically and mentally. Gaming has been proven to cause addiction, causing lower physical face-to-face contact, driving social anxiety, and causing physical problems. Some countries have taken steps to ensure that these negative effects are minimized, take for example Chinas recent "ban" on children gaming.

Society

Relationships.

Relationships are built upon trust and commitment and I.T has and continues to impact both. With applications like tinder or bumble allowing people from all over the world to meet each other, finding a partner has never been easier. But with such ease comes a massive downfall in relationships I.E cheating. Cheating/affairs are a massive factor in using these applications with an estimated 18-25% of users on tinder being in a “committed” relationship. But it’s not all negative, love is strong, and these applications have allowed people to build families and find a lifelong partner.

Entertainment.

The new norm for entertainment is using I.T, from short burst videos like those found on tiktok, to full scale movies on Netflix. The benefits of these websites are great as they allow for more & more entertainment with lower cost. Users can access these platforms from their laptops, tablets or phones. This allows for ease of use but also drives isolation, instead of going to the cinema with friends they now sit on their bed scrolling through ten seconds clips on tiktok.

The problem with short burst media is that it lowers the user’s attention span. From hour long movies to ten-minute YouTube video, and now thirty second tiktok clips. Our attention span is lower than ever before. These platforms are proven to cause depression and anxiety; lower face-to-face interaction and a higher drive to constantly check our phones are causing people to feel depressed and isolated. Instead of getting dopamine from spending time with real friends, people are now relying on Share buttons, likes, followers to feel this release of dopamine.

Jobs/Employment

Finding a job has never been easier. With websites allowing employers to find future employees, the job-hunting process is now so simple anyone can do it. The I.T sector has opened millions of jobs worldwide, from creating a website to managing system-networks.

New technology has the potential to bring huge economic benefits. AI, robotics and other forms of smart technologies have the potential to boost global GDP by an estimated $15 Trillion.

Everyday workplaces have been impacted in some way by new technology. From stocking shelves to using complex PDA systems to find and manage stock. These things benefit businesses for the better and allow for a constant flowing workplace. More and more employees are using personal devices during work hours. These things’ lower workflow, and lower employee self-esteem. Social media has impacted how we view/interact the working environment.

With companies showing off a “perfect workplace” on social media sites, it creates this dystopia like version of a workplace, and falls back to this fake standard of how everyday things in life should be. With life in the workplace being shown as a great happy reality where everyone communicates with one another. More and more workplaces are becoming an antisocial space. Fewer group activities, more employees sitting alone using some form of technology, listening to music whilst working. These actions drive not only an antisocial workplace but help to create an antisocial world.3

Another affect technology has had on employment is the lack of new jobs due to automation. Many jobs we do now-a-days will be replaced quickly by robotics/ai. So said “new” jobs have been replaced. An example of this would be uber eats, first released to the public in 2014 uber eats allowed for easy delivery of food. In 2020 the uber eats drivers were replaced by robotics for certain shops. This is a prime example of how robotics will take over most everyday jobs, in the span of six years an entire sector of the delivery was automated.

How do we benefit from job loss? With more of the world becoming automated the need to rely on technology comes an opportunity to apply for jobs supporting the I.T sector, from fixing servers to installing operational software into plants around the world. There’s a huge number of unfilled jobs currently around the world with an estimated 3.5 million unfilled jobs in the cyber security sector alone.

Communities

I.T has impacted almost every community around the world in some way, from neighbour’s lack of socialising to high street shops going completely digital. These things all have a massive impact on communities.

High street shops now rely on user data to ensure what product is in stock. Amazon is a prime example of this, recently opening several stores that don’t rely on typical human-to-human contact, but instead use sensors and cameras to track what users are doing within the store. But what affect does this have on the consumer? Normally when a person enters a store they’re greeted by a happy face and a welcoming message, now welcomed by a prompt to sign in before entering the building. This creates a feeling of isolation, loneliness and sense that the consumer is no longer viewed upon as a human, but now a number in a database.

Without the face-to-face contact when completing everyday tasks our communication skills including listening, speaking, and body language will never grow, creating a world where everyday tasks are automated will ensure future generations don’t understand how to communicate correctly in different environments

Social media groups are wonderful as they connect people with similar interest from all around. This is great when it comes to things like cars, dogs, or technology. But the downside to these groups is that they’re also used by raciest, homophobes, and sexiest people. Multiple incidences of gatherings organised using social media groups have resulted in injury, harm or even death.

Social media groups are not all negative, they allow for gamers to communicate about their favour topic, parents to communicate about what’s best for their child, dog owners to share photos. These elements of social media are great as they show the best parts in people, allowing users to develop communicational skills for future use.

Legal and ethical issues

Technology has brought forward a lot of issues relating to law and ethical rights. Millions of people use the internet every day for malicious reason including crime, violence, and arranging physical harm.

A key example of misuse on the internet is pornography, porn has been at the centre of many crimes on the internet, resulting in serious injury and even death at times. An estimated 37% of all content on the internet is pornography. Now imagine how much of that is illegal material, harmful material or hateful material.

Pornography is a serious addiction for many, and continues to rule over people’s lives, it plays a serious role in how young people interact in relationships. It creates an almost dystopian view on sexual relationships, ruining the chance for many to build healthy bonds. Many who view porn struggle to hold a healthy relationship with loved ones.

Many ethical issues come with technology, including the misuse of personal information, misinformation, deep fakes and use of ai.

Misinformation is so common on the internet; you may have heard of “clickbait”. Commonly referring to using titles that don’t have anything to do with the subject topic, click baiting is used more & more daily, from online entertainment channels to news broadcast. With click baiting becoming more common, more users are finding themselves in vulnerable situations.

Such is the case with older generations falling victims to monetary schemes, and identity fraud. An estimated one in 12 respondents of a survey aged over 65 fell victim to monetary scams because of misinformation online.

Another ethical issue with technology is the use of AI. AI or artificial intelligence refers to the “theory and development of computer systems.” In simple terms this means that a computer can teach itself new skills that should ultimately benefit humans.

A big problem with A.I is the question of emotions relating to said A.I. Commonly asked is the question of “Can A.I feel human emotions”. With the right programming such “emotions” could take place, this raises multiple questions including Should they have the same rights as humans, can we harm them, will they overpower us.

A.I is used for many good things including surgery, developing cars, and detecting illnesses. These helps reduce resources and increase working hours. The negative side of these actions is that jobs are lost, communication is lacked, and knowledge isn’t shared.

With A.I replacing many jobs, humans lack the need to learn new skills including, how to communicate within certain aspects of a work environment, hands on skills, and functionality in society.