The impact of information technology on society, explores how technology has affected areas of business, law enforcement and even the home. Created for CAPE information technology unit 2 by S. Bloomfield
2. IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY ON
SOCIETY
• IT has advanced society in many ways. Most
aspects of society have been impacted.
• Although there are many advances and positive
outcomes, if IT’s use is not managed carefully
it can yield negative outcomes.
• Therefore the use of IT must be managed and
accompanied by security measures to prevent
negative outcomes from its adoption.
3. Information Technology (IT) in Business
• Organize information and process high volumes of data quickly
• Enables cheaper and efficient communication
• Promotes a high level of accuracy and less wastage
• Speeds up production in a manufacturing environment
• Facilitates e-commerce - selling goods and services direct to customers is a
growing business worth millions
• It allows global reach for target market.
• Enables customized communication and more personal advertisements
4. IT in Business (Disadvantages)
• Information technology enhanced access to information, this access to
information has brought with it a wide range of issues on information privacy.
• While communication and collaboration is facilitated, lack of face to face
interaction has removed the human element desirable for building cohesive teams.
• Computer crimes have become pervasive
• The very distracting and addictive, social media has invaded both work and home
• Businesses are forced to adopt technology at any cost or suffer from the lack of it.
5. Information Technology in Medicine
• Technology plays a vital role in healthcare, giving rise to the field of science known as,
Health Information Technology (HIT). This applies to the areas of nursing, clinical
care, dentistry, pharmacy, public health, occupational therapy, and (bio)medical research.
• IT has facilitated improved quality of health care for patients.
• Technology is used to display multi-dimensional x-rays using devices such as Magnetic
Resonance Imaging for scans, there are e-pharmacies, telemedicine, and the emergence
of tools to support the sick, convalescent and those with special needs.
• Technology has also revolutionize the accessibility of health care to underserved areas
6. Information Technology in Medicine
(Disadvantages)
• Medical technology takes time to test and refine
• Medical staff needs training to use properly the technology tools in medicine
• It takes time to build trust in order to use some technology on patients or their family
• Doctors can make intuitive links with other factors they know about the patient.
• Technology used in medicine are usually expensive
• Some technology tools are simply assistive tools to aid a trained doctor or nurse, not to
substitute them.
7. Information Technology for Persons with
Special Needs
• Computer technology can dramatically improve their quality of life for the
disabled.
• Blindness - Convert text to speech, or brail keyboards
• Deafness - Speech recognition and convert speech to text
• Poor mobility - limbs are aided to move by motors connected to computers
• Artificial movement being developed
• Eye movement detection can control mouse, blinking can represent a click.
8. Information Technology in Education
• Distance education and online learning facilities, to include virtual libraries
• Applications are widely used to improve the collaboration and presentation of projects
and assessments
• Computer-aided learning with self paced interactive teaching packages available
• Links to other schools, businesses, parents and other stakeholders
• International cooperation feasible
• Facilities available for students with disabilities
• Online assessments
9. Information Technology in Law Enforcement
• Technology allows law enforcement services to store and retrieve vast
amounts of data, such as incident reports, criminals' descriptions,
fingerprints and other identifying marks. It can also include descriptions and
registrations of vehicles involved in criminal activity.
• Mobile computing devices – laptops and tablet PCs -- are very useful to law
enforcement. This facilitates notetaking, accessing records or contact
colleagues on crime scenes. Mobile devices can also be used to check the
identity or other credentials of individuals, as well as recording and tracking
vital data such as vehicle license plates.
10. Information Technology in Government
• Storage and communication of information
• Local governments are using technology to reach citizens and gather
information for various departments through online application forms for
government services and surveys.
• They are also disseminating information via websites
• interfacing policy making with stakeholders
11. Information Technology in the Home
Information technology has impacted homes through its usage in:
• Entertainment
• Smart homes
• Online businesses
• Virtual stores
• Communication
• Online education
12. Some Downsizes of IT
(See images of news headlines)
• Whiles advances in IT have changed the way we do things and enable greater
efficiency, its applications are not without consequences.
• Annually millions of dollars are lost to deliberate crimes committed using
computer systems, forcing countries to enact laws to protect citizens.
13. Use IT responsibly
• There are several measures to protect your devices and information from the many
threats faced by computer users.
• Use IT responsibly to protect your information by using these measures, which
includes:
• biometric security measures
• installing and updating your anti-virus on devices
• changing passwords regularly
• refrain from logging into private accounts on public computers
• just being generally careful when using technology.
