Essay/Term paper: Http://www.change.com

Essay, term paper, research paper:  Information Technology

HTTP://WWW.CHANGE.COM


Joe the mailman will no longer be coming to your door. You won't have to
go pick up your newspaper in the bushes at 6:00am anymore. Libraries will be a
thing of the past. Why is this all happening? Welcome to the information age.
"You've got mail!" is the sound most people are listening to. No more
licking stamps, just click on the "send" icon, and express delivery service will
take on a whole new meaning.
The future is here. Now, a mouse is better known as a computer device
rather than a rodent. Surfing is being done over the Internet instead of at the
beach. Games are no longer bought at toy stores, but are downloaded into our
computers. All of this new technology sounds fascinating, but will it benefit
more than it will hurt?
Think about my opening sentence, catchy right? Well, think about it
again. What is going to happen to good 'ole Joe? And those nice librarians, what
about them? Will they be out of a job? Will they be forced to operate computers
that are foreign to them? How do we as a society adjust to technological change?
The answer lies in society's ability to effectively measure the costs and
benefits of technological change.
The rapid growth of technology brings with it a massive amount of hope,
but also despair. Kids are growing up with computers. They are learning more and
faster than other generations could. This is wonderful, right? Maybe not. Will
computers deplete the social skills kids need to mature? Will being a member of
America OnLine rather than a youth group prove to be helpful or the opposite?
Our generation will need to lead this technological revolution in the right
direction. We need to offset the obstacles in our path. We need to make sure the
flow of change is going to be a positive one. The answer lies in our hands.
We need to utilize the technology given to us, and make sure it is used
in a positive sense. We need to take the Internet and the World Wide Web and rid
it of its evils. We need to make sure terrorist secrets and bomb recipes are not
being exchanged, and make sure educational tools are. We need to make the
Internet a source to help find jobs, rather than a catalyst to replace them.
These are the hardships we must get rid of.
So what are we going to do about it? We need to educate everyone young
and old, and make computer illiteracy a thing of the past. We need to maximize
computer security to its fullest extent. Computers shouldn't replace jobs, but
rather be a tool in them. Our generation is being handed great technology and we
have to rid it of its flaws. This is what needs to be done to make technological
change great.
The possibilities suggested by technology is endless. There are numerous
problems that arise from such powerful technology. However, with the number of
smart minds out there, it is likely that these problems will find solutions and
information technology will live up to its glamorous expectations.
So, Joe the mailman can keep on delivering that mail, but maybe with a
computer to help organize and make his deliveries quicker. The librarians can
keep putting books on the shelf along with software and multimedia too. Welcome
to the future.