The growth in the availability of affordable computing technology has caused a number of major shifts in the way that society operates. The majority of these have been for the better, with home computers and the internet providing unlimited access to all of the information ever created and discovered by humanity.
There are, however, some less positive social issues generated as a direct result of technological advances. In the interests of balance, it is important to analyse these and assess the severity of their impact so that steps can be taken to better understand and combat the negative effects.
1. Communication Breakdown
Socialising within a family unit has always been important, as it strengthens the bonds between us and ensures cohesion within the group. But with more and more households owning several computers and numerous portable devices granting access to information and entertainment, some argue that this is leading to a lack of family communication.
If each member is engrossed in their laptop, smartphone or tablet each evening, even communal things like watching television are compromised. Meanwhile, you can see whole families who are out to dinner and still staring into a touchscreen rather than talking to one another.
And if you’re the one driving to that family dinner and texting while driving, you’re a distracted driver, increasing your risk of crashing, and potentially causing death and injury.
Increase your digital wellbeing by allowing technology to improve your life and not to become a distraction to your life and others. Your life and others are more important than technology.
2. Defamation of Character
The only means of getting in touch with major corporations or famous people in the public eye prior to the advent of digital communication was via a stiffly written letter. This was, of course, accessible only to the intended recipient and thus a very private way for the disgruntled to vent their spleen. But first message boards and now social media services like Facebook and Twitter are being used to defame people and businesses in an intrinsically public manner.
This has led to arrests, lawsuits and the threat of placing stricter controls over what can and cannot be posted to such services. It has also caused heartache and woe for many individuals, helping to perpetuate a massive, international rumour mill which pays little heed to facts or the threat of legal action.
3. Identity Theft
Fraud is another spurious activity that has been able to evolve in the wake of easily accessible computers and the internet.
Perhaps most problematic and prevalent of the various fraudulent activities is identity theft, in which personal details of innocent people are harvested by a third party so that they can be used for malicious purposes. This includes carrying out illicit online transactions and other damaging activities that can have serious ramifications.
4. Cyber Bullying
As with the defamation of public figures, the internet and computers have also made it easier for spiteful people to attack people they know personally as well as perfect strangers via the anonymous platforms that are available to them.
This has led to serious incidents of cyber bullying involving both children and adults, sometimes with tragic consequences. The problem with these techniques is that they tend to go under the radar to an even greater degree than traditional bullying, which makes it harder to detect and correct.
5. Gaming Addiction
Whilst computers and the internet have made it easier for gambling addicts to get their fix, a new type of addiction has also arisen, in the form of addiction to videogames. This is something that can impact people of all ages and leads inevitably to a number of problems, from the social to the financial.
Professionals are beginning to take gaming addiction seriously and combat it in the same way as other diseases.
6. Privacy
Whilst high profile cases of online identity theft and fraud should have caused people to become more careful about how they use their personal information, issues of privacy and a lack of appreciation for the risks are still widespread.
This extends beyond simply giving away private data via chat rooms, message boards and e-commerce sites and extends into the compromising world of social media.
Employers are now combing Facebook and Twitter to effectively do background checks on potential employees, paying particular attention to those that have not chosen to use privacy settings to prevent anyone from getting a look at their details.
7. Health & Fitness
We are living increasingly sedentary lifestyles, because computers are removing the need for us to physically carry out many tasks, as well as keeping us rooted to one spot throughout our working days and during our leisure time.
Not to mention the physical issues that can arise from constantly looking down at our smart devices, forever buried in a blur of FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) delirium.
This is leading to an epidemic of childhood and adult obesity throughout the developed world, with the UK possessing one of the worst records in this respect of any of its Western neighbours.
8. Education
The educational properties of computers are well known and universally lauded, but having all the information in existence on tap has its own issues.
In particular, the practice of plagiarism has become a major problem, as students can simply copy and paste whole chunks of text from online sources without attributing the work to anyone else. This has become the bane of educational institutions, which tend to come down hard on detected plagiarists in order to discourage similar activities from others.
9. Terrorism & Crime
Computers have been a positive force in allowing for the creation of global movements and righteous activism in a number of forms. However, the other side of the coin is that terrorists and organised criminals also exploit the web for their own nefarious purposes.
Businesses, governments and individuals are all at risk of cyber attack and the perpetrators can often act anonymously from a country with no extradition agreements.
10. Sexuality
This is a less clear cut topic, but there are fears that unmitigated access to pornography for adolescents is shaping the sexual proclivities and expectations of young people in problematic ways.
This guest post was contributed by Conosco; a company providing fixed-price IT support to London’s most demanding businesses for 10 years.
If we are here just to count the issues of computer. Than i think we also need to know about the benefits of computer. How it is helping the peoples to generate the awesome business. 🙂
Computers have done lots of wrongs…
but ultimately everything depends on us !!
Those of you know how we all benefitted from the use of computers in everyday life and ultimately no one can say computers did wrong to the living world.
If the computers can do our work then that’s a good thing because while the computer is doing the activity you told it to do then you don’t have to sit down and do nothing to help your fitness. You don’t have to do that while the computer is doing the task you can do exercise instead of just sitting down and not doing anything for your health. So really the computer is a blessing to people who need to do long tasks because they can just let the computer do it and while it does that they can exercise and take care of their health.
Computer can be related as way of life in present day world. But what will be the solutions to all these challenges posed by computer?
In the current world, it is up to us how we interact with our computers; we may use them for good or for bad. We must be intelligent and mindful of our actions because they can bring harm to others as well as good deeds, just like the quotation says, “Think before we click.”
My reaction About the 10 Social Issues Computers Have Created for me as I know we all benefitted from the use of computers in everyday life and the computer give us fast smoothing works in daily life theirs nothing wrong with it by using in good ways like research in education specially in this time having online classes online works and jobs. But sometimes many of us use computer by abusing in it, in social media bullying hacking and some other stuffs that can harm many people around the globe technology is evolving everyday. And for me as and Future IT this social issues can be handle by we must be intelligent and mindful of our actions and be responsible for every steps that we made.
However, some technological advances cause people to be distracted, overly stressed, and increasingly isolated. Many people are involved in an abundant number of relationships through technology, but sometimes the quantity of these associations leaves people feeling qualitatively empty. Obviously, technology has had a profound impact on what it means to be social.
Great analysis of social issues computers have created. I believe computer is like a signed blank cheque given to humans, it is our responsibility to solve problems with it instead of creating one.