Impact of Science and Technology in Society - Assignment Example

IMPACT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN SOCIETY; Recently-developed social networking websites (such as Facebook) are corrosive to real community Introduction The advancement of science and technology has been one of the greatest creativity of mankind. Introduction of social networking websites like Facebook has impacted much positively on human lives, with almost equal share of adverse effects on the very tenets of the existing community. The introduction and use of social media have indeed revolutionized various aspects of human communication and socialization on a global scale (Castells, 2010). Notably, this fast revolution in media technology internationally presents two faceted aspects, namely advantages with regards to rapid human communication and disadvantages on corrosion of human community (VanFossen, 2008). Differently put, on one side social network leads to the advancement of the societal morals while, on the other hand, it can lead to its total erosion. This paper, therefore, presents the various use and positive impacts of social media on different fields such as in politics, business, socialization and communication, empathy and human relationships. Further, the paper presents the negative impacts of social network especially on regard to its corrosion on the very fabric of real community. In that light it present aspects such as loss of individuals’ privacy, bad groupings, online harassment and bullying as well as it is destructiveness to human productivity (Lewis, 2001, p.528). Social Network and Business Social media has enabled various businesses to advertising their products efficiently thereby attracting different customers from various parts of the world. Through the online advertisement, the company can meet different clients, thereby expanding the customer base for the products (VanFossen, 2008). Large customer base will eventually increase the sales of the business. The social media also helps the company to build loyalty with the clients, and this helps the business clearly to understand the different market structures and market demands (Castells, 2010). The business can, therefore, improve on and make changes on its products depending on the feedbacks received from the customers. The use of social media has proved to be cheaper for business marketing and provide an efficient platform for improving a product’s brand image and popularity than the use of expensive methods of marketing like the television (Moed, 2005, p. 211). Social Network and Politics The social media plays a very vital role in various elections around the world such as in the United States, India, and Iran. They can be used to rally people for a specific purpose and to support a given candidate (Leydesdorff & Bornmann, 2000, p. 20137). The use of social network such as the Twitter has facilitated the connections between the politicians and their potential citizens. This enables them pass the information very fast and in a more targeted way than the other modes of communications. Through the web sites, the politicians can obtain various feedbacks on the reactions of the public concerning their campaign strategies (Mitcham, 2005). You Tube is widely being used by the politicians to advertise their campaigns than the use of television that tends to be expensive and this reaches a wider scope of voters than other modes of communication hence can easily lure voters. Twitter is also widely used to organize and to reorganize of campaigns because it provides a platform where like-minded citizens share ideas concerning a particular candidate (Castells, 2010). This is a positive impact of social media. Social Network and Communication The social network minimizes time used in communication and enhances efficiency. For example, it takes just few seconds to write a twit that can be communicated to numerous social networks around the world (Engelbert, 2002). This is more time-saving and costs effective than the use of such means as the mobile phone that you only communicate to one individual at any given moment. The cost incurred while using a mobile phone is higher than that used in the social media, thereby an individual communicating over the phone is likely to avoid explaining all the information but instead state the point then hung up (Castells, 2010). Viewed from this perspective, use of the media improves the moral standards of the society as people can quickly communicate an incident in matters of seconds (Engelbert, 2002). Social Network and Socialization The social media enables people to connect quickly and re-connect with friends and acquaintances (Engelbert, 2002). We can make new friends, share contents and various ideas on different issues and also acquire new trade ideas. This keeps one abreast of the new global developments that can provide opportunities for different activities. Through online socialization, students can share their contents and thereby to improve their academic performance and communication abilities. An individual also learns different cultures in the world by communicating with friends, hence enabling the understanding and respect of various cultures in different societies (Mitcham, 2005). It is possible to find those whom the individual share interests on sites such as the Facebook and Twitter. This gives one the common ground on which they follow a person’s ideas and make connections that eventually can provide opportunities for business venture and eventually improve the morality of the society (VanFossen, 2008). Effects on Empathy and Relationships Every individual usually spare some time to talk about himself or herself on the social networks like on Facebook and this provides the perfect opportunity for one to share his problems with the people who cares and from there, one can get solution to his problems and find ways of overcoming the challenges of life (Mitcham, 2005). Social network, therefore, provides the platform where individuals share their life experiences, and when a person finds out the solution to his problem from a similar story from a friend, they empathize with one another. From the social networks, individuals are also able to build up relationships. These results from the fact that people move towards one another understanding another’s interest and can, therefore, build strong and long lasting relationship. Through these activities, individuals share and understand their moral obligations in the societies (Leydesdorff & Bornmann, 2000, pp. 2040). Despite having numerous positive changes in human society, the use of social media has also impacted negatively to the daily living of people. Too much indulgence in the sites, may change individual’s behavior and negatively change their moral conduct through the imitation of the behaviors and cultures portrayed in the social media (Castells, 2010). Loss of privacy The social network has become one of the sites where privacy and personal information is given the least of attentions and the erosion of the private lives is increasing at a faster rate as the number of social sites increases in number (Mitcham, 2005). Individuals’ reveal much of their personal information such as full names, birth dates, who our family members are, our life experiences, hobbies, and interest. This habit is much prevalent in the use of Facebook, which is considered as the hub of coercing individuals’ personal information (Russell, 2012). This kind of disclosure of very personal information can make the user vulnerable to crimes such as theft. The same applies to companies where most managers usually do a background check on the social network before hiring an employee. If the company realizes that the individual to be employed posts immoral things in the media, there are chances that they will not consider such a person for the job due to fear of erosion of their morals and ethics (VanFossen, 2008). Bad groupings The social media has enabled the acquisition of numerous friends globally whom we have very little information on their real characters and origin (Leydesdorff & Bornmann, 2000, pp. 2042). Hanging out with friends regularly can easily influence an individual’s behavior and change of character due to the peer pressure. The same applies to the online friends as we tend to imitate the culture and lifestyles of the online friends whom we share pictures and ideas with. This kind of imitation can easily make an individual adopt a dressing style that can be against its cultural norms and beliefs thereby eroding our morals and the sense of respect for humanity and oneself (Engelbert, 2002). Distraction and harm to Productivity According to past researchers, it is noted that British companies have lost billions in dollars annually in its productivity due to too much addiction to the social networks by their various employees (Castells, 2010). Working on the web can lure someone into the social media sites, with an illusion of relaxing, if one is not careful, u realize that you have spent much time on the social site than the time you spend while working (Russell, 2012). The sites also influence students who do their research online. Instead of working on their studies, much time is spent chatting with friends or playing the online games such as Facebook Scrabble and Zynga Poker. This acts as a distraction to the progress of the student and general harm to the society by diluting the moral standards of the community (Engelbert, 2002). Online Harassment & Bullying The media has also acted as a breeding place for unscrupulous individuals who take advantage of others. Especially after breakups, some individuals tend to harass their former friends by defaming their names through expressing false abuses (Lewis, 2001, pp.528). This causes unnecessary tension and mental torture that can have long lasting effects on the victim. Similar attacks can be done by the school going children and young girls. These can easily influence their behaviors and instill fear and a feeling of loneliness. It can also affect the performance of the children in school if their friends shy away from them following the posts given in the media to them (Leydesdorff & Bornmann, 2000, pp. 2033). This can lead to the loss of love that is one of the most important virtues in a moral society. Conclusion As the time rolls over, studies and researches being done, science and technology will still continue to advance, and many more new things will be invented. It is, therefore, critical to note, much of the continued advancement are geared towards improving humanity and the upholding of the societal values. The use of science clearly and vividly consider the distinction that exist on the commercial interests, nationalism and the inflexible ideologies that considers not the influence that they have on the societal ethics, human rights and dignity, and the harmony with nature. To avoid confusion and general societal mistrust in the power of science to the lives and societal values and ethics, the scientists therefore have a duty to reflect and monitor the social consequences of the technological applications or dissemination of partial information of their work. However, it must be observed, the use of social media such as Facebook and other sites have impacted negatively on the existing fabric of the community. Arguably, though the careless use of the media was not the intended purpose, it can nevertheless lead corrosion of human culture and the real community. Social media reduces real communities into virtual/cyber communities. References Castells, M. (2010). The rise of the network society (2nd ed.). Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell. Retrieved from http://samples.sainsburysebooks.co.uk/9781444310146_sample_415190.pdf Engelbert, P. (2002). Science, technology, and society: The impact of science in the 20th century. Detroit: UXL. Retrieved from http://www.worldcat.org/title/science-technology-and-society-the-impact-of-science-in-the-20th-century/oclc/49576783?page=citation Lewis, A. (2001). Index to Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society Volume 21.Journal of the American Science, Technology & Society, Vol. 5 (Issue 34), 527-529. Retrieved from f http://www.seas.ucla.edu/Chang/publications.html. Leydesdorff, L., & Bornmann, L. (2000). Integrated impact indicators compared with impact factors: An alternative research design with policy implications. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 2133-2146. Retrieved from http://www.leydesdorff.net/software/i3/ Mitcham, C. (2005). Encyclopedia of science, technology, and ethics. Detroit, MI: Macmillan Reference USA. Retrieved from http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:c9duYuNz8MQJ:www.buffalolib.org/vufind/Record/1673942/Details+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk#sthash.WQ0taFum.dpuf Moed, H. (2005). The source normalized impact per paper is a valid and sophisticated indicator of journal citation impact. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Vol.10 (2), 211-213. Retrieved from http://www.ost.uqam.ca/fr-ca/publications/articles.aspx Russell, B. (2012). The Impact of Science on Society, New York, Routledge Printers Retrieved from http://www.gandhipeacefoundation.org/gandhi1002/pdf/Chapter-9.pdf. Rocci, L. (2012) Ethical Impact of Technological Advancements and Applications in Society, London, IGI Global Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?isbn=1466617748 VanFossen, P. (2008). The electronic republic? The impact of technology on education for citizenship. West Lafayette, Ind.: Purdue University Press Retrieved from: http://www.seas.ucla.edu/prosurf/Publications/paper123-Gao-NanoLetters.pdf Read More