Emerging Technologies

Before we begin to talk about what effects emerging technology has on today’s digital society we need to understand what digital society means. A digital society is the modern and progressive society that has formed as the result of the adoption and the integration of information and communication technologies in the home, at the work place, in the schools and for recreation (Information Technology Authority, 2012).

After doing research on emerging technologies on today’s digital society I found that there are several published articles discussing the effects that new technology has on human life and businesses. One article that I found talks about the drastic impact that technology has had on the way we do business today as to how we use to do business twenty years ago. Before we would have to conduct meetings face to face by traveling to the meeting place but now we can have meetings face to face and never have to leave the office or the city for that matter. When sending and receiving memo’s we would have to fax the memo or send it by mail years ago but today we have email. If we had to have a conference meeting with other companies each company would have to spend a great deal of money to get each employee or representative to the location of the conference meeting but today we have we conferencing with is much cheaper and you can have everyone in the meeting all at once (Business Knowledge Source.com, 2003-2010).

Another article I found was on the effect that emerging technology has on human life. We have become so reliable on technology that we are almost lost without it for example we can now do most of all if not all of our personal business online such as our banking, bill paying and talking with friends and relatives using e-mail and social media such as Facebook and twitter (Brown, 1999-2012). We as when we needed to do research for a paper for school or needed information like phone numbers and addresses we would have to go to the library or look in the phone book, but today emerging technology has made it so that we do not have to leave the house or pick up the phone book to get the information that we need it is all on the world wide web. When it comes to communication with family or friends we have the option of calling from a cell phone, e-mailing or using social media (Brown, 1999-2012).

Social media is one of the emerging technologies today this way of communication has allowed today’s society to connect with others in ways that would have taken months maybe even years to do. One of the most popular social media sites is Facebook. Facebook has made communicating with others and connecting with friends very easy. The positive change of Facebook is that you can connect with family and friends that live far away within minutes. When you have special events or pictures that you want others to see you can upload them to Facebook and those that are far away can share them with you. Another good thing about Facebook is that you have the opportunity to meet new people without having to leave the comfort of your home and you also have the ability to create a large social network that can lead to great opportunities in your career. Facebook can also lead you to more resources and information that you may not be able to find on Google or other resource sites (Positively Presents, 2010).

Just as there are some good things about Facebook there are some bad things as well and sometimes the bad out ways the good. Facebook has made it so that you are dealing with people face to face granted it is an excellent way to meet others but it is also a way for you not to come face to face which can become a problem when you do actually have to be face to face with others. Facebook has also given people another way to bully others this is called cyber bullying and this type of bullying seems to be worse than the kind that is done in person. The reason I say that is because in person only a few people see and hear what is said but when it is done on Facebook thousands see what is said and it just seems to magnify itself. Another negative change about Facebook is the loss of privacy. There is the potential of others hacking into your account and reading all of your personal information without you even knowing it (Positively Presents, 2010).

As emerging technology changes daily the effect that it has on digital society is evident in the way that we communicate with one another, the way that we do business and how we stay in touch with family friends and meet new people. Facebook is one of those emerging technologies that allows us to communicate meet people and network in ways that would have taken a great deal of time to do if we had to do it the old fashioned way. Although Facebook has it positive side and negative side it is the way technology is going.

Reference

Business Knowledge Source.com. (2003-2010). Retrieved September 19, 2012, from Impact on Business and Society of Emerging Technology: http://www.businessknowledgesource.com/technology/impact_on_business_and_society_of_emerging_technology_024012.html Positively Presents. (2010, July 5). Retrieved September 19, 2012, from Is Facebook Positive: http://www.positivelypresent.com/2010/07/is-facebook-positive.html Information Technology Authority. (2012, June 12). Retrieved Sept4ember 19, 2012, from Digital Society: http://www.ita.gov.om/itaportal/Info/FAQ_DigitalSociety.aspx Brown, B. (1999-2012). EHow Tech. Retrieved September 19, 2012, from The Impact of Digital Technology on Human Life: http://www.ehow.com/list_6022847_impact-digital-technology-human-life.html