The widespread use of computers has affected people and organizations in many ways. Information Technology has broken down distance and time barriers, transforming the world into a “global village” where communication happens on a village scale rather than a world scale. IT has given rise to phenomena such as:
- Information society: a society in which acquiring, manipulating and distributing information plays a central role in most sectors of life, usually integrated by complex communication networks.
- Digital revolution: the marking feature of the information age.
- Digital economy: economic processes, transactions and activities based on digital technologies, mainly the computer, with or without internet connectivity.
- Information age: the name given to the present era, which began when digital computers and related technologies were developed in the second half of the 20th century.
Positive Impacts
- Fostering of globalization: different regions can interact and depend on one another, sharing information quickly across government, education, technology, commerce, medicine and culture.
- Cost effectiveness of businesses: computerizing business processes makes business more cost effective.
- Faster and cheaper communication.
- Job creation: new roles such as database administrators, programmers, system analysts, hardware/software developers, web designers and technicians.
- Unlimited working hours: companies worldwide can stay open all day, making cross-border purchases easier.
- Faster and easier operation on data: quick manipulation of data, downloading and sending text/images over the internet.
- Broader market for sellers and buyers: faster, less problematic bookings and improved security systems.
Negative Impacts
- Unemployment and reliability concerns: insecurity such as privacy concerns, phone call interception, and email hacking are common with IT.
- Dominant culture: ICT has contributed to some cultures dominating others, e.g. English becoming a principal business language, overshadowing other languages.
- Health problems: extended computer use may cause finger and eyesight disorders such as Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS), as well as visual strain and headaches.
- Lack of human abilities: computers cannot reason, learn, decide or feel emotions, and cannot adapt to unexpected circumstances the way humans can.
- Addiction: games, chat rooms, search engines and shopping sites can occupy users for hours or days, causing some to neglect their basic daily duties.
- Electronic waste (e-waste): the collective name for electronic devices no longer useful – computers, TVs, DVD players, photocopiers – the fastest growing segment of the world’s waste stream, though it can be recycled.
- Digital divide: the gap between those with regular effective access to digital technologies and those without, widening the gap between developed and developing countries.
