INTRODUCTION OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY-POSITIVE USE OF ICT IN THE SOCIETY

 USE OF ICT IN THE SOCIETY

POSITIVE

Industry and commerce
• It has made the industry and commerce more efficient, productive and reliable
• Leading companies use computer technology as a competitive tool to develop new products and services
• They are used in manufacturing to schedule operations and process control
2. Health care
• Used in medical automation in the areas of automatic diagnosis, electro-cardiogram screening and monitoring
• Storage of medical records on patients
• Used in inter-country aided surgeon operations
3. Government Institutions
• Used heavily in government ministries such as finance, planning & education to store records and improve work efficiency
4. Education and research
• Used in education as training aid, and in research institutions. Long distance learning (e-learning) has replaced the old international correspondence courses offered by postage.
• It is used in aviation to train pilots using flight simulators.
• Engineers and architects use computers to design, test and re-design.
5. Communication Industry
• In telecommunication industry, it is used in control of exchange switch
• Railway corporations rely heavily on computers to co-ordinate the movement of their wagons and goods
• Air traffic controllers use it for airspace surveillance using radar equipment
6. Police and defense
• Computers are currently used in fighting crime
• Police are capable of keeping database of finger prints which are automatically analyzed by computers
• Integration of computer technology and defense has produced modern military
7. Home and leisure (entertainment)
• Computer can be used for home shopping

• There are also entertainment information for those looking for leisure as well as a host of games
• They have also been used to help handicapped e.g. instant speech are turned into text on the screen to help deaf, while text are turned into simulated speech for the blind.
8. Employment
• Employment in the computer industry worldwide has increased by 20% during 1980s to higher percentages
• In South East Asia countries, 60% of employment opportunities are today in the computing industry.

NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF ICT IN THE SOCIETY
1. Lack of Social Skills
The use of online social media outlets causes us to meet face-to-face with much less frequency resulting in a lack of much needed social skills. We lose the ability to read body language and social cues in other people.
2. Excessive use of ICT poses a health hazard
Technology creates the perfect recipe for depression with the lack of human contact, overeating and lack of exercise. This will lead to depression, obesity, sleep disorders, eye strain, back pains etc. Other resultant disorders include Internet addiction disorder (IAD) commonly called problematic internet use (PIU) or compulsive internet use (CIU). Other overlapping terms include internet overuse, problematic computer uses or pathological computer use – and even iDisorder. These terms refer to excessive computer use that interferes with daily life.
3. Internet addiction includes
i. Cybersexual addiction: compulsive use of adult websites for cybersex and cyber porn.
ii. Cyber-relationship addiction: Over-involvement in online relationships.
iii. Net compulsions: Obsessive online gambling, shopping or day-trading.
iv. Information overload: Compulsive web surfing or database searches.
v. Computer addiction: Obsessive computer game playing.
4. Pollution

E-waste is not always disposed of properly, causing deadly chemicals to leach into the ground. Plants that manufacture the electronics are emitting toxic fumes into the air.
5. Higher energy consumption People don’t turn their devices off; they keep computers on or plugged in, mobile devices charging and televisions plugged in. Also manufacturing all of these high-tech toys causes an increase in greenhouse gas emissions.
6. Lack of Social Boundaries
Much in the same way that people over share on social media sites, there is an increasing tendency to cross social boundaries. Cyber stalking someone or sending unsolicited nude photos are examples of crossing social boundaries.
7. Encourages the culture of violence
After people lose empathy and are accustomed to violence, it becomes the social norm.