Social Impact of the Internet (Past Technologies)

1. Education

1.1. Information has become more accessible for students due to infinite internet access. All types of subjects are searchable. Students and teachers are never far away for an answer to a problem

1.2. Students even teachers become very reliant on the internet, meaning they believe it to be the answer to anything. This stops them from using traditional ways of researching information. And with the amount of technology for leisure, students get drifted away from what is really important.

2. Copyright

2.1. The evolution of the IT age saw plenty of shifts and changes in the arts industry, such as music, video, with IT based art and video gaming joining the ranks. With the help of the internet users could upload their own form of art and immediately be recognized due to the way the internet brings communities together through mutual liking's.

2.2. But because digital information such as music are just data in the form of binary, IT has made it easier to share on the internet. This causes trouble as people can acquire from the internet; music, videos, games etc. for free. Because of the way people can find media on the internet and save it to their computers (illegally and legally), media creators who make a living from selling DVD's and music albums are effectively getting ripped off and losing money.

3. Leisure

3.1. With cutting edge technology, IT has made new and improved forms of genre such as video games with dedicated online capabilities. This means you can play with your friends even if you cant physically seem them. You are also connected to a network of over millions of people around the world, so you can game 24/7.

3.2. With the ability of play 24/7, statistics show that kids and people in general are become more addicted to sitting down and playing on their computers and gaming console, this laziness is not good for the your well-being as it could lead to various diseases.

4. Commerce

4.1. IT has created it's own form of business; Online shopping. With this people don't have to pay for transport, which could lead to a cleaner environment. Online shopping has a larger plethora of purchasable items. People no longer have to wait in line, pay more and wait for the shop to open, because online shopping eliminates these problems.

4.2. Online shopping does however have some negative points. Because online shopping is entirely based on computers, the website administrators for the website no longer need a physical presence (building). This endangers small business establishments whom use the traditional methods. How are they to compete with an online store who doesn't pay rent and can also sell more at cheaper prices?

4.3. Improvements in the IT industry helped large corporations and businesses through communication and high-tech software. CEO's and bosses can now communicate with their employees extremely quickly and efficiently, they can set up business meeting instantly, this itself is can help the efficiency of work being done by people, because in the business world; time is money. Effectively IT has bridged the gap between people in the commerce industry, because of this new "bridge" employees and their employers are connected wherever and whenever, furthering improving the way income is made.

4.4. With the amount of information such as transaction processes, private info, messages, stocks, bank accounts etc. Skilled hackers can easily steal from businesses big and small. IT has created it's own crime, with the commerce industry involved, plenty of things can be stolen.

5. Email

5.1. Virtual form of personal messaging, eliminates having to physically pay and send letters through the post.

5.2. With the amount of online services whom request signing up through email, email has become somewhat less private. Online services can bombard you with unwanted offers through email.

5.3. Quick and easy to operate, messages arrive seconds after sending. Unlike physical mail which can take days if not weeks to arrive.

5.4. Email accounts can be subject to hacking, which could result in a privacy breach, stolen information, an illegal route to other accounts controlled by that email address.