mattwanjau

[mattwanjau]

Mathew N. Wanjau N16/3/1228/014 https://mattwanjau.tumblr.com/post/159949510847

One of the discussions about ICTs concerns is whether changes in society are driven by technological development, or whether technologies are actually influenced and shaped by the society that produces them. Discuss which side you support with reasons.

[mattwanjau]

HOW INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DEVT. AFFECTS the SOCIETY.

Communication and Information Technology in its proper use has proved to be a blessing in society. Evolution in I.C.T. has changed a greater part of our livelihood. Technology offers significant opportunities which we depend on a daily basis and which impact our lives in numerous sectors of our community; be it in communication, learning, research, business or entertainment. It is important to state that changes in society are driven by technological development for reasons described below:

The world has been reduced to a small village due to Information technology. This is evident by the global economy as a result of Bridging rational boundaries predicated by the evolution of the internet.  In many industries there is now geographical distribution of shared such as information, products not excluding human resource; as a result of video conferencing an instructor in USA can lecture a class in a local university in Nyahururu, Kenya.

The biggest stride brought about by Technology is in Social Interaction. It is clear that ICT has an inevitable power to drive human interactions. Invention of communication network, wireless handset technologies and e-mail changed the world and set a basis in telecommunication. Upcoming innovations like: Social media; which has necessitated networking among different individuals and sharing of ideas. Fibre optic undersea cables which has seen in the reduction of internet cost, thus resulting in more people being connected to the internet. Instant Messaging, being free services has enabled constant networking between individuals, friends and family members.

It is precise that development of electronic media has heavily influenced access to information. Before the invention of the radios and televisions, there was limited sources of information (i.e. Print media) which was produced periodically and may have been costly to access. With electronic media introduced live coverage of news, more diversified content and programmes to accommodate more tastes. With evolution of the internet, information is easily now available online and available real time. It is still the greatest source of information through various media i.e. News websites, blogs, search engines, video blogs and tutorials.

Many learning institutions have adopted incorporation I.C.T. in Education due to the various advancement in software and learning resources available. In some advanced countries even low level classes use advanced equipment such as tablets with their curriculum installed thus transforming education. This has enhanced students’ comprehension of technology at an earlier age. The use of smart projectors, whiteboards, personal computers, tablet computers are common in tertiary level of education, using the internet to share content among students and lecturers. The internet has simplified Research process making it is now to find specialised information for one’s research through optimised search engines. Presence of a vast library of journals, publications, forums and past research documents facilitate advanced research.

Technology has changed the way we do Business. The invention of the internet has seen the revolution in marketing. Many businesses have shifted a better part of their advertising to the internet through social media or buying affordable ad-spaces on different websites since it allows business reach their targeted market group by monitoring their preferences. The internet also brought about internet banking which allowed persons to make transfer of funds online, this has paved way for the advancement of internet shopping, an industry by itself now known as E-Commerce. With E-Commerce various innovations such as PayPal, Visa, MasterCard allowing secure transfer of funds among different accounts around the world. Continued strengthening of mobile networks to more geographical networks has facilitated innovation of mobile banking thus empowering savings and transfer of funds to and from marginalised areas as the case of M-PESA an innovation by Safaricom Limited (2007).

With the above it is wise to acknowledge that technology influences our society in so many ways hence the need to embrace its positive aspects. As much as Innovations in technology shape our community, we are also entitled to mould forthcoming technologies to cater for future generations.

Mathew N Wanjau.

N16/3/1228/014