Social Issues : Lifestyles

Use of Leisure Time

Cheap personal computers are now owned by many households. People, especially children, spend a lot of time using their computers. The more time children spend playing on their computers the less time they have for more social activities and the less exercise they get. There is some concern about how this affects their ability to interact with other people. However it is also argued that computers can help children with less well developed socialising skills to learn to interact better with other people. Such children often find it easier to communicate with other people via a computer than in person. Communication via computers acts as a stepping stone towards normal communication.

Some groups are also concerned that violent computer games can affect the behaviour of some children.

Increasing automation of industrial production systems, together with the availability of many services such as shopping and banking via the Internet are partly responsible for the fact that in most Western countries people have more leisure time than in the past.

Personal Information and Privacy

The availability of cheap information processing and storage systems enables companies to store large quantities of personal information about you. Many companies and organisations such as clubs or the government keep information about you. This information is usually made available (for a price) to other companies who might be interested in selling products to you. Some people are worried about how "Big Brother" could put together all this information to build up a dossier on you. The prospect of a National Identity Card which everyone would have to carry and could electronically store information about you increases these concerns. Biometric data that would uniquely identify a persom could be stored on such a card or on a database linked to the card. On the other hand a national identity card may be a good thing as it would make it easier to trace people. This could help catch criminals and terrorists.

People are concerned that companies which store information about them may not respect their privacy and may misuse the data. The Data Protection Act regulates what companies may do with information they hold about individuals within the UK, but many countries do not have laws that are similar to this. Some people do not think that the Data Protection Act goes far enough to protect peoples privacy.

Communications and Availability of Information

Improvements in communication technologies have reduced the cost of sending information around the world :

• International telephone calls are now significantly cheaper, enabling everyone to keep in touch with friends and business contacts around the world.
• Satellite broadcasting technology means you can view pictures of events thousands of miles away as they happen.

These factors have resulted in the use of the phrase "Global Village" which describes the situation in which people around the world can all share the same information as if they lived together in a small village.

The growth of the Internet has provided a new interactive channel through which information can enter and leave peoples homes. The World Wide Web enables a rich variety of information including text, sound and video to be viewed. Using a credit card it is possible to shop and buy services with your computer. This is known as e-commerce.

Because no one has control over the information placed on the Internet it has become effectively impossible for governments to censor the information that is available. There is no way in which the UK government can control the content of web servers in other countries, especially less developed countries. This places an extra burden on the users of such services. Parents have a responsibility to ensure that their children only access suitable material and all users have to view information obtained from the Internet with caution. Filtering systems can be used to make it less likely that people will access inappropriate material, but these systems are not perfect.

The lack of any control over the information that can be put onto the Internet may have positive effects in some countries which are less democratic than the United Kingdom. The Internet makes it increasingly difficult for authoritarian regimes to control the flow of information to citizens and promotes freedom of information. Student uprisings against the government in Indonesia were organised by electronic mail. Some governments, concerned about the free flow of information make it either very difficult or illegal for private individuals to own or use modems.

The fact that people can communicate with others from different countries allows them to find out about other cultures and ways of life. However the domination of the English language on the Internet and the fact that many web sites are based in America may lead to cultural homogenisation, where the differences between cultures and lifestyles are reduced as more people are exposed to the same information and influences.

Electronic mail has also enabled some people to work from home as tele-workers.

Because it is relatively expensive to connect to the Internet, access is restricted to those who can afford it. This means that many people will be unable to receive email or to access the world wide web. As use of the Internet becomes more widespread this could amount to discrimination against the poor and those who are not technically aware.

Small Communities

People who live in small communities and in remote areas of the world have traditionally found it hard to communicate with other people, to earn a living, and to get access to services such as education. Young people have often moved away from their place of birth to look for a better job or to meet more people. Computers can help to make life in a small community more sustainable in many ways :

• People can use email to communicate with others wherever they are.
• The world wide web provides a rich source of information, regardless of where you are.
• People can telework from home, or run businesses using e-commerce so it does not matter if they are located in a remote area.
• Services such as education can be partly delivered by the Internet and other telecommunications systems.

People with Special Needs

Some people face physical or mental difficulties that makes it harder for them to carry out certain tasks. Blindness, poor eyesight, poor hearing and physical limitations can make it hard to carry out everyday tasks. Computer systems can be used to help people to overcome these problems. For example :

• A system combining a scanner and speech synthesiser can be used to read out pages from a book or newspaper to a blind person.
• People who are hard of hearing can use email to communicate instead of the telephone.
• People who are unable to speak but can use their hands can type words into a computer using a keyboard and the computer will use a speech syntheiser to speak the words for them.
• People who are housebound can communicate with others via the Internet.

Control Systems in the Home

Many devices in the home now incorporate computerised control systems. These devices such as washing machines, burglar alarms and video recorders make life easier and give people more choice about how they spend their leisure time. Unfortunately some people feel pressurised into buying the latest DVD player, mobile telephone etc. This can cause people to get themselves into debt as they buy products that they can not afford.

Education

The use of computers has started to change the way that people learn, and is likely to continue to do so :

• The creation of the world wide web means that many people now have access to much more information than they have ever had in the past.
• Improved communication technology means that learners do not have to be in the same place as their teacher. Email and video conferencing allow people to communicate with a teacher and learn from home. Many people now take courses over the Internet.
• Computer Aided Learning (CAL) systems can take over some of the role of a teacher. By analysing student responses to questions a CAL system can tailor a series of lessons to the individual's requirements. This enables students to progress at their own pace, rather than the pace of a class they are in.

Dependency

Computer systems are now involved in many of our everyday activities. For example :

• A washing machine uses a computer to step through its wash cycle.
• Traffic light sequences are controlled by a computer system.
• Most cars use many computers to control various systems such as the engine and braking.
• Payments made by debit card are transferred electronically between banks.
• Most shops use stock control systems to keep track of the items they have in stock and how much money they have earned.

Some people are worried that we are too dependent on computers. What would happen if some of the computers stopped working ? How would we manage if we couldn't take money out of banks or if traffic lights stopped working ? Of course the companies who produce these systems take measures to make this very unlikely, but there is always a possibility that things can go wrong.

GCSE ICT Companion 04 - (C) P Meakin 2004