ICT In Society

ICT is all very well and good, except when you get a virus. Or when your files are corrupted. Or when you get hacked and you bank details stolen. And come to think of it, no-one likes it when you get blasted with spam about, say, Spam Control 2007. But apart from that it's prettyuseful. But what is it's impact on our society, and how have we changed over the few decades that we have had computers? The answer may not strike you right on the forehead, but I bet if you thought hard enough you'd realise it had been nibbling your ankle for your whole life.

Entertainment
ICT plays a big part in what we do in our spare time. Goine are the days of watching a film in the cinema twice a week, reading books in the evening, listening to the radio at breakfast and newspapers being the first place to look for news. Well maybe not actually, but you see what I mean; we now have multi-channel digital TV, computer games, digital radios, CDs and DVDs. We can just sit at home and while away the evenings watching those great sitcoms from the 60's or re-runs of Batman, blasting our mates on multi-player Halo 2 or even just bopping away to a little Slipknot.

Family
There is a gap. Young people are now taught ICT as a core subject, up until year 10. This means they are at home with the ideas of technology, while their parents are often left in the dark. Most parents are taught how to use computers by their own children. I know I'm teaching my mum new things all the time. There are a group of people out there nicknamed 'Silver Surfers'. These are older people who have taken to using the internet as part of their lives, for example blogging their feelings on the web.
Another new feature of the internet is online shopping. 40% of woment asked feel their lives are more free now they shop online. It seems to help.

The Digital Divide
Also known as 'Social Exclusion', this means that some people cannot access this new fangled technology and use it. Mostly this is because of money. Computers and moblies cost, and not everyone can afford this 'necessary luxury'. There is a campaign to give homeless people mobiles or e-mail addresses to use as a contact when getting a job or a permanent residence. It would make life easier.
Another reason for not being able to use a computer is illiteracy. You can't type if you can't write in the first place. The Simputer is trying to put an end to this. It is a simple, low-cost alternative to a computer that allows people in LEDCs to use it. It is bridging this Digital Divide.
Different countries may have no electricity set up, or a telephone grid to access. This can be hard to keep up with the technolgy advancements made in countries like the UK. One lady in Bangladesh bought a mobile phone from the bank, and sold phone calls to all her neighbours. She was nicknamed 'the Telephone Lady', and has managed to save up the money to buy her son a bike to ride to school with.
Even within a MEDC there can be problems with lack of networks in the countryside. In the Uk, there has been a major attempt to provide even the most remote places with broadband acces though. And that's OK, because I've just upgraded recently!

Communications
We now have: mobiles, satellites, undersea cables, internet, emails, instant messaging, texting, video conferences and 24 hour rolling news. They have changed the way we communicate with people, sometimes for good, other times for bad.

Benefits - No matter where you are, you can talk and communicate with your friends and family, so long as you have the right equipment that is. Video conferences have reduced the need to travel, and so have cut fuel consumption and costs by quite a bit. People can work from home (teleworking), having access to their employer's network to do work, even from miles away. Other tasks done lond distance include training. Teachers can give lessons or be trained in a new software in places like Thailand by people all the way over in the UK.
24 hour news networks have raised world awareness by vast amounts. The speed and size of the response to the Tsunami on Boxing Day was mainly due to the amount of people who saw the news about the issue at the time.

Issues - All the new ways to communicate mean that people no longer even have to turn around to talk to a collegue a few feet away, they can text instead. Even in families people are known to talk only over instant messaging systems! People get distracted more easily by things like texts. Family ties are loosened as people spend more time on computers or watching TV instead of talking. People are less fit as there is less need to walk around, they can just stay in their home and just blob. Expensive items like mobiles are just magnets to theft, and crime is on the increase.

Conclusion
Like everything else in the world, ICT has it's ups and downs. Sometimes it seems like it's all you need, other times you wish you didn't have it. It can be confusing.