Impacts of Cyber Technology on Society/Human Diversity - Research Paper Example

? Impacts of Cyber Technology on Society/Human Diversity Table of Contents I. Introduction 3 II. Cyber Technology Impacts on Society/Human Diversity 3 A. Age 3 B. Gender 5 C. Physical Ability and Appearance 6 D. Talents 6 E. Race/Ethnicity 7 F. Sexual Orientation/Preferences 7 G. Jobs 7 H. Socioeconomic Status/Wealth 8 III. Conclusion 8 References 9 I. Introduction Cyber technology, or the set of technologies tied to computing as a science, has become pervasive and indispensable in modern life, taking over many vital aspects in society,from the way we keep records of our health and identity, to the way we manage our money, consume media, and communicate with each other. The latter is an especially pervasive aspect of cyber technology, dealing as it does with the Internet and online technologies and platforms. This paper explores the impacts of cyber technology, defined in this way, on the various aspects of society and human diversity (CMOP, 2012; Lehto et al., 2011; Booz Allen Hamilton, 2012; Ratnam and King, 2011; Hamilton, 2012; Burgman, 2012; Mission Times Courier, 2012; Snyder, 2012; Krawford, 2012; Cyborg Digital, 2012). II. Cyber Technology Impacts on Society/Human Diversity A. Age Literature exists that demonstrate both the positive impacts of cyber technology or digital technologies on the elderly, as well as on people from various age groups, including school children. In elderly settings, digital technologies such as online media and social networks, as well as communication platforms including email, has had the effect of keeping elderly people informed and connected with others, the society, and the rest of the world. This kind of connectedness and engagement affects their well-being and health in a very positive sense (Mission Times Courier, 2012). Education settings for younger people, people of school age, are likewise arenas where cyber technology has done well, impacting the delivery of educational content to this age group (Underwood, 2009). Positive impacts also accrue to all age groups owing to the way digital technologies have improved delivery of health care services (Powell et al., 2003). Meanwhile, there is literature that explores the underside of digital technologies and their impacts on people from various age groups, including addiction to the Internet (Purdy, n.d.). In the way too, that government has come to embrace digital technologies and has come to view cyber technology as enabling the way it interacts with constituents of all ages and to provide services, cyber technology has had profound effects on people of voting age in particular. Moreover, the literature details the occurrence of the digital divide, or the divide between those who have knowledge and access to digital technologies, as occurring partly along age lines. This means that for instance, cyber technology separates older people and younger people in terms of the latter's greater ease of use and greater access to opportunities provided by the digital technologies present in society. For instance, the purveyors of technology in the digital world are those who are relatively younger. Older people, in turn are not as proficient with digital technologies. The divide then occurs where younger people are able to better exploit the available economic and social opportunities present in the technologies, including the Internet. Older people, on the other hand, are not as able. This digital divide is an important impact of digital technologies by age. The literature here is extensive, and consistently shows the presence of the divide in cyber technologies as occurring along the lines of age. This has implications on how well seniors, for instance, are able to adapt, and how young people are to be educated in order to fully hurdle the challenges in cyber technology use, as well as leverage knowledge to help society and to ably support themselves in the economic aspects of their lives (Helbig et al., 2005; Wood, 2009; Clark, 2012; Gardner and Oswald, n.d.; MacLeod, 2010; Soker, 2005). B. Gender The digital divide earlier discussed has implications likewise for how the divide, or the difference in access and understanding of cyber technologies, can likewise occur along gender lines. The gender divide, for instance shows itself in the way even students in various settings report uneven access to digital technologies such as email, which have impacts on the equality of genders in terms of access to education and to economic and social opportunities afforded by cyber technologies. Uneven access to the Internet, for instance, and to other forms of digital communications, impair the ability of women in particular, to be able to learn as ably as their male student counterparts in some settings (Soker, 2005). The observation in some pieces of literature is that in many cases, the problems relating to the gender divide in cyber technologies are compounded by a host of factors, in a vicious cycle that effectively shuts out women from participation. These factors include the lack of education, the lack of access due to language barriers, lack of access to financials, lack of access to media, and the lack of access to the digital technology infrastructure itself (Conversations for a Better World, 2010). Meanwhile, in the rest of the developed world, the digital divide along gender lines is also something that has been confirmed in the literature, with the impacts on society being profound in that the digital gender divide reinforces inequalities between men and women that have traditionally existed in the west. The thinking is that, as in the rest of the world, the existing social mechanisms that reinforce inequality along gender lines likewise extend to access to the cyber technologies of the present (Liff and Shepherd, 2004). C. Physical Ability and Appearance The available literature on cyber technologies implicitly touch on the aspects of society and individuals relating to their appearances and abilities, the latter being pronounced, for instance, in literature on how cyber technologies enable seniors to extend their physical capabilities via online communication and engagement with the world. Such would not have been possible otherwise. Moreover, the global reach of digital technologies have had the impact of shrinking cultural prejudices against other people based on how they look. Meanwhile, the explosion in use and sophistication of digital technologies have allowed for criminals to alter their digital appearances and records, in order to perpetuate crimes(CMOP, 2012; Lehto et al., 2011; Booz Allen Hamilton, 2012; Ratnam and King, 2011; Hamilton, 2012; Burgman, 2012; Mission Times Courier, 2012; Snyder, 2012; Krawford, 2012; Cyborg Digital, 2012). D. Talents Cyber technologies have resulted in some divides along gender and age in the way people are able to access those technologies, which in turn impact the way people develop themselves through education, and in the way people develop and use their talents to better themselves and their financial and social positions (Helbig et al., 2005; Wood, 2009; Clark, 2012; Gardner and Oswald, n.d.; MacLeod, 2010; Soker, 2005; Liff and Shepherd, 2004). Meanwhile, where talents display and discovery are concerned, cyber technologies such as online video repositories, including YouTube, has allowed for talent performance in the arts to be elevated to a global scale too. This has been true for the performing arts, even as those talents that have nothing to do with the arts, such as the sciences, likewise have found their ally in the various digital technologies available (Google, 2012). E. Race/Ethnicity Disparities in access to digital technologies mirror disparities in social opportunities along race and ethnic and even national lines that have been observed historically (Helbig et al., 2005; Wood, 2009; Clark, 2012; Gardner and Oswald, n.d.; MacLeod, 2010; Soker, 2005; Liff and Shepherd, 2004). F. Sexual Orientation/Preferences Where digital technologies have allowed for people being able to develop alternative social networks and to get access to information about where and how to change their physical aspects, including sexual orientation and characteristics, the take is that such digital technologies have resulted in greater freedom for people to pursue those lines of interest. The impact is towards the direction of greater freedom in other words, implied in the existing literature (CMOP, 2012; Lehto et al., 2011; Booz Allen Hamilton, 2012; Ratnam and King, 2011; Hamilton, 2012; Burgman, 2012; Mission Times Courier, 2012; Snyder, 2012; Krawford, 2012; Cyborg Digital, 2012). G. Jobs The way the digital divides are reinforced impact the ability of people to get jobs, depending on their age, gender, abilities, and general access to the technologies. On the other hand, cyber technologies can arm people with the knowledge necessary to get jobs in their lines of expertise as well (Helbig et al., 2005; Wood, 2009; Clark, 2012; Gardner and Oswald, n.d.; MacLeod, 2010; Soker, 2005; Liff and Shepherd, 2004) H. Socioeconomic Status/Wealth Disparities in abilities to exploit the opportunities presented by cyber technologies translate to differences in wealth attainment and socioeconomic status for different people, and those disparities occur along the digital divides as well (Helbig et al., 2005; Wood, 2009; Clark, 2012; Gardner and Oswald, n.d.; MacLeod, 2010; Soker, 2005; Liff and Shepherd, 2004) III. Conclusion It is easy to see, from the vast literature on cyber technologies and their impacts on society, that the impacts are pervasive and profound. Cyber technologies, by insisting themselves into the vital aspects of people's lives, alter socioeconomic dynamics, and in some cases reinforce inequalities (Helbig et al., 2005; Wood, 2009; Clark, 2012; Gardner and Oswald, n.d.; MacLeod, 2010; Soker, 2005; Liff and Shepherd, 2004; CMOP, 2012; Lehto et al., 2011; Booz Allen Hamilton, 2012; Ratnam and King, 2011; Hamilton, 2012; Burgman, 2012; Mission Times Courier, 2012; Snyder, 2012; Krawford, 2012; Cyborg Digital, 2012) References Acohido, B. (2012). S.C. Data breach just latest in hacker onslaught. USA Today. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2012/10/26/south-carolina-data-breach-36-million-ssns-stolen/1661541/ Booz Allen Hamilton (2012. Cyber technologies. boozallen.com. Retrieved from http://www.boozallen.com/consulting/transform-technology/cyber-technologies Burgmann, T. (2012). Police renew push for cyber-surveillance law. Nanaimo Daily News. 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