OLJ Task 2: The influence of technology on society
Over the past two decades, information and communications technology (ICT) and network access have transformed every aspect of our lives. The advent of internet, smartphones and apps has rapidly and dramatically changed the way that we communicate and interact with each another as individuals, with businesses and civic institutions like governments. Many components of our interaction have shifted from face-to-face to online spaces where we can interconnect with others, interact with organizations, and undertake commercial transactions. All these changes bring both positive and negative impact to the society and organisations.
In terms of positive impact, it is undeniable that technology helps improve people’s access to information (Warf, 2018, p. xxix). For example, library users can search for information via electronic databases and online catalogue. It also helps make governments more transparent and efficient via electronic government (Warf, 2018, p. xxviii). E-government can be defined as “the use of web-based applications to enhance access to government services and deliver them more efficiently” (Warf, 2018, p. xxviii). E-government can be used for a wide range of government services such as access to census and other public data (Warf, 2018, p. xxviii). Besides, technology allows easier online shopping, electronic banking, and bill payments and provides enormous amounts of entertainment such as viewing movies on Netflix and education via online courses (Warf, 2018, p. xxix).
In terms of negative impact, digital inequality has become a crucial issue. It refers to people’s societal position affects their digital access, skills, types of uses and thus affect their digital engagement (Hargittai, 2021). Many people remain unable to access the Internet regularly because of their lower education level, low income or lack of technological skills that result in unequal access (Warf, 2018, p. xxiii). However, public policies in many places have done little to address the issue of unequal access (Warf, 2018, p. xxiii). Another negative impact is internet censorship which involves government (especially totalitarian) control on Internet access, functionality, and content (Deibert 2009). Warf (2018) argued that many totalitarian governments fear the emancipatory potential of Internet technologies and thus want to regulate Internet access (p. xxviii). That reduces the transparency and efficiency of government.
From my point of view, organisations especially governments have to consider the issue of digital divide. This issue has become more important during the COVID-19 pandemic. Digital divide refers to uneven distribution of the world’s netizens which can be divided by class and education, gender, ethnicity, and age (Warf, 2018, p. xxiv-xxv). For example, the young people are most likely to use the Internet and smartphone and be comfortable with digital technologies while the older adults seldom use the Internet and smartphone because of security issues and technical difficulties (Casanova et. al., 2021). Therefore, government should develop policies to help the elderly develop digital skills that facilitate their engagement in online activities (Leukel et. al., 2021).
Reference
Casanova, G., Abbondanza, S., Rolandi, E., Vaccaro, R., Pettinato, L., Colombo, M., & Guaita, A. (2021). New older users’ attitudes toward social networking sites and loneliness: The case of the oldest-old residents in a small Italian city. Social Media + Society. https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051211052905
Deibert, R. (2009). The geopolitics of Internet control: Censorship, sovereignty, and cyberspace. In H. Andrew and P. Chadwick (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of internet politics (pp. 212–226). London: Routledge.
Hargittai, E. (Ed.). (2021). Handbook of digital inequality. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing. doi: https://doi.org/10.4337/9781788116572
Leukel, J., Schehl, B., Sugumaran, V. (2021). Digital inequality among older adults: Explaining differences in the breadth of Internet use. Information, Communication & Society. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2021.1942951
Warf, B. (Ed.). (2018). The sage encyclopedia of the internet. SAGE Publications. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/csuau/detail.action?docID=5434980