The Era of Information Technology

We have grown up hearing stories of struggle from our elders that how they used to toil under the light of the candle to study. This was the time before the internet, electricity and information technology came in. Today's modern generation will find it hard to live and survive without these technologies. If the older generation would have been here to witness these innovations, they would never be able to fathom all these achievements. The age of information technology has brought up a lot of benefits for society but along with that humans are grappling with its adverse effects too. Let’s discuss these in detail. 

The positives

Unlike humans, the tasks performed by machines have resulted in production growth. A number of activities have become automated, precise and flawless with technology. The element of automation has saved our time, helping us to utilize it in a better way. For example, if you do not have time to visit shops to buy clothes you can order it online and it will be delivered at your doorstep. Also, it has become way easier to communicate and provide efficient customer services these days. If your home Wi-Fi is not working and there is a lot of work pending, simply make a call or write an email to the customer representative and tell them about it. Within a few minutes or hours your issue will be resolved. Similarly, if you miss your loved ones who live far away from you, just by making a video call you can sense their presence.

Cybercrimes have increased significantly over the past few years. Individuals and companies’ data or confidential information is more susceptible to attacks but with powerful algorithms and efficient apps, frauds and attacks can be identified immediately. Another benefit is that technology has provided us with safety. The gadgets that you use such as smartphones or laptops have fingerprint, facial recognition and other lock mechanism features that protect your data and other private information (such as documents, files, videos or images). CCTV cameras in homes, offices or anywhere act as surveillance tools to protect your assets and possessions. Any attempt made to steal anything is simply caught on camera and you can trace the culprit easily. Not just this, global trading has become more common with time.

The negatives

The advancements made in technology has made many people jobless. The rise in unemployment is because of the fact that many tasks previously performed by workers have been replaced by machines and computers which complete the work quickly. Data security has become a major concern. Everything personal that you share over the internet can get into the hands of malicious individuals such as hackers, terrorists, criminals and even foreign rivals. There is more possibility of frauds as they can gain access to your systems, networks, business data and even bank accounts. 

People are exposed to massive amounts of information on a daily basis and they get easily distracted because of unnecessary stuff available over the internet. This affects their productivity and causes delays in the completion of work. Children have phones, tablets and laptops so their usage of social media has increased a lot. They waste time on watching games and movies and cannot focus on their schoolwork which affects their academic performance too. Kids are also exposed to inappropriate videos, content and apps that can mislead them. One major drawback is that people are suffering from many diseases such as eyesight weakness, sleep deprivation or obesity which can be problematic in the long run.

Clearly, information technology has raised the standard of living but the growing issue of invasion of privacy continues to prevail and should not be ignored.