Modern_Technology

Computers and Social Change Marjorie Marshall History Mod 3 SLP Introduction This essay seeks to explain the social context and the consequences of IT in bringing social change in the society. Computer is an instrument for communication as well as control. Computer has a lot of influence on how people interact; it has altered what we know and our behavior. By altering the way we create and utilize information, computers contribute to the changes witnessed in how property, power and resources are allocated in the society. The effect of computers on altering social relationships and work places, health and psychology, in protecting electronic information, preservation of privacy and for political and military purposes are considered hot button issues. Social scientists consider the computer an instrument of social change. The social importance of the computer lies on the personal experience of the people who interact and a reflection of the historical changes in the society. Computers affect and are themselves affected by the society. Computers have changed the way people relate with one another and how they relate with their immediate environment. Computers have also changed how people organize their work. The society has, on the other hand influenced the operations and the development though the demands individuals have for processing of information. Social change is considered as a shift in the characteristics of society and culture. Compute and Social Change Computers and the internet are considered to be the most important technological advancement of the 21st century. Various social institutions and values like business, government, work and entertainment have been transformed. Computers have revolutionized education; it has led to the development of online courses that is an epitome of the integration of education and computer technology. People also do not have to travel to buy newspapers or articles or magazines since they exist in electronic forms that customers can read without having to pay for them. Digital integration has altered the way companies and individuals used to pass information. Various institutions are adapting to the use of computers so as to enable them to stay on top of the game. Since a lot of activities take place over the internet, individuals are increasingly becoming more dependants on internet computer and internet institutions from performing of transactions to chatting with friends and relatives. The effects of adopting computers have exceeded human expectations and its consequences go beyond its original application and the intention of the innovators. According to the inventors of computers, technology is neutral and they offer no guarantee that it will be used to the benefit of the mankind or assure humanity that it is free from any side-effects. The use of computer technology in war and in peace has created tension in the human society like the innovation of nuclear energy and genetic engineering that threaten to make human life unpleasant. Computers have revolutionized the way people handle information; their speed, unwearyingly accurate and low cost of operations have extended competition of automation and manual labor. The use of computers has coincided with rapid expansion of international and national communication and the operations of private businesses and governments have been inextricably intertwined and the increased growth of national and multinational agencies that has led to the increased data flow across boundaries (Jordan, Open University & Pile, 2003). The computer technology has developed as a tool for solving particular social problems in the society. Computers are applied in virtually all facets and spheres of human society and it has been applied in every situation. Among the areas that have been influenced by computers are. Computers and Work: computers have altered the way people relate among themselves on the workplace. General purpose computers have automated all information processing task like processing of payrolls and keeping of records. Computers have also changed work itself, the development of computer controlled machines have led to reduction of human skills and loss of jobs since it has eliminated some kind of jobs that involved some human skills. This has led to workers learning new skills so as to cope with the computer generations and its effects. New jobs have been created in the advent of computers like computer programmers. The emergence of E-mail, World Wide Web and other internet technologies have had strong impact on the social fabric since people can be able to communicate with each other affordably, location notwithstanding. People can also be able to share information faster and confidentially. People are used to commanding computers, it has also been the reverse that people are being commanded on what do to, this is the current phenomenon that define the societal pattern. People have found themselves defining tasks and problems according to requirements and the capabilities of the computer system. Computer has revolutionized individualized social interactions and it has destabilized relationship that existed between people. The introduction of data processing systems have altered the number and the type of jobs that people in the society can do. Computers dehumanize work; this dehumanization has led to alienation of people from work and society. The advent of micro computers has brought emerging forms of entertainment into home like computer games and business functions like receiving stock market information, paying bills and banking as well as making traveling arrangement that are done at home without an individual having to travel. The internet has changed how people receive entertainment and education in public place and private homes. Computers have enhanced productivity through revolutionizing of industrial system (Stanley, 2001). The emergence of computers has led to the intensification of the frequency and the quality of interpersonal communication among individuals. People will access each other with ease since computers will make them feel strongly connected, this can result in engagement and happiness among families, communities and organizations. Computers through internet have also weakened human ties and minimized individual contacts because people will have limited face to face contacts with their friends since they will not be moving out of their homes and they will just interacting with them at the comfort of their houses (Tyler, 2002). This has led to different dimensions of disclosing intimacy and changing way of expressing personal relations. Computer technology provides new space and mode of communication that is likely to negatively impact on intimate relations. Computers have provided the potential for people to escape the body component of communication and particularly the components and constraints that accompany the body like race, age and gender. Computer aided communication provides communication that involves verbal clues only and the participants in an interpersonal interaction cannot predict or have a clue of the other parties demeanor or style of dress, it also limits dualism that is a common feature in a communication. The use of e-mail has led to the elimination of visual and verbal clues that is practiced in face to face communication (Stanley, 2001). Computers have revolutionized access to information at an incredible speed. The information that is available online has been exponentially increasing. Individuals can also be able to access information from virtually every corner of the globe and similar information can be available to a large group of people. This is due to the fact that computers can generate a large volume of information. Computers have minimized social distance hence it has been possible though the use of computers to send messages and videos over a large distance through the internet (Jordan, Open University & Pile, 2003). Conclusion Computers have caused a lot of social changes in the society and at the same time it has elicited controversy and problems in the society. Computer has transformed virtually every aspect of human life not only in terms of human interaction but also integration in the society and performance of tasks. Whereas the effects of technology are considered as a double sword, technologies are dynamic and new technologies keep on emerging and hence people should exercise a lot of caution since investing in various forms of computer technology can result in confusion. Computers have influenced various changes in the society, through the introduction of computer master narratives have been lost, languages have been debased and increased disaffection from people’s geographical places and the community and loss of privacy. Computer technology has been considered to be an actor in influencing social change in the society. The social change that is brought by computer technology may have influence in education, work, employment and human interaction. References Jordan, T, Open University & Pile, S. (2003). Social Change. New York, NY: Wiley-Blackwell. Stanley, W. (2001). Critical issues in social studies research for the 21st century. New York, NY: AP Publishers . Tyler, T. (2002). Is the internet changing social life: it seems the more things change, the more they stay the same, Journal of Social Issues, Vol. 58 (1), 2002, pp. 195-205.