Essay Time!

[Drekal]

Thanks guys. I'll probably use the first one, and take elements I like out of the second one (ie, the references).

It's due in about, oh, five hours or so. Gotta double my word count and find more things to quote from before then!

[Drekal]

Okay...I'm up to a pretty decent number now. About 2000.


But need a conclusion. And possibly more things to say about ubiquitous computing.




======================


“...My friends and wife phoned every five minutes. What is there about such 'conveniences' that makes them so temptingly convenient?... Convenient for my office, so when I'm in the field with my radio car there's no moment when I'm not in touch. In touch! There's a slimy phrase. Touch, hell. Gripped! Pawed, rather.” ~ The Murderer, By Ray Bradbury

Technologies available to the public are rapidly developing. Eventually, it may well get to the point whereby every aspect of our lives are maintained by a variety of computers. Everything from communications, to entertainment, to selecting the quickest route to a given destination and more, all carefully considered by computers. This is eLife; Electronic Life.
But what effects would eLife have on society as a whole? Would there be any truly drastic changes due to such technology? It is the intention of this essay to show that yes, there are a number of implications.

There are a number of technologies that lead into the concept of eLife. Such technology includes the telephone, the television and the Internet. The impacts these have had on society will need to be analysed before we are able to properly understand the implications that eLife will likely bring. It will also be necessary to look at the most important aspects of eLife: Ubiquitous computing, grid computing, e-commerce, and so on. From this, it can be shown that there are indeed many social implications of eLife, be they positive or negative.




To greater understand the possible influences eLife would have on everyday life, it is necessary to begin by looking at existing technologies that lead into the concept, and have had a wide effect on society as a whole.
For instance, television has had a tremendous impact on social activity. A good deal of conversation is often related to the latest popular television show or a movie that had been shown the previous night. Furthermore, the television has become one of the most popular sources of news coverage available, allowing the general population to be more aware of the current state of affairs. Previously, it was required to wait for the next days newspaper to discover the events of the previous day. But now, it is possible to gain live coverage. In addition, by viewing the events instead of seeing still photographs, the public are more drawn into the events of the world. Some people even gather together specifically to watch sporting events. Some of these events may be occurring on the other side of the planet, but the television allows them to keep informed, and brings people together.

However, it can be argued that too much time has been invested in the television. Some busy parents use it as a replacement babysitter, while not really paying attention to their children or what they are watching. Studies conducted by Carolyn A. McCarty, (PhD) indicate that there is “A significant association between the amount of television watched between ages 1 and 3 and subsequent attentional problems at age 7”. Other studies, such as those conducted by George Gerbner, indicate that “children's television shows contain about 20 violent acts each hour. They also showed that children who watch a lot of television are more likely to think that the world is a mean and dangerous place.” It was further observed that children that watched violent shows had more aggressive tendencies than those that did not. This indicates the rather obvious fact that young minds can be easily crafted by whatever they observe for entertainment purposes. If the parents are too busy to pay attention to what their children are watching, the effects could be drastically counter-productive.
What effect does the television have on eLife? Presently, technology exists that can be programmed to record any occurrence of a particular television show that a person may desire. The ‘tivo’ may also observe the types of shows that have been recorded on it, and may advise the user as to other shows that may be of interest to them. This allows a person a good deal of freedom, as instead of arranging their own life to view a particular program, it is possible for the show to be recorded automatically for future viewing, while performing some other task, meeting with friends or family elsewhere for instance. This could be viewed as a step towards eLife.


Another device that has potential uses within eLife is the telephone. When the telephone was invented, most people would not have seen the need for it: What message could possibly need to be delivered immediately? What couldn’t wait for the mail? However, as the telephone gained in popularity, the pace of the business world could be seen to quicken. Soon, it became impossible to imagine what life was like without this device. People that lived further apart could maintain quick and easy contact, share important information, ask questions or even give necessary instructions to those in need.
Now, we have the mobile phone. With mobile phones, people can not only maintain contact wherever they go, but can also arrange meetings easier, give directions, and so on. They are capable of storing a variety of contact numbers, taking (and sending) pictures, playing games, sending text messages…And are likely to do even more in the future.
But yet, while this would allow friends and family to gain closer contact with each other, “Sociologists are already beginning to note that many people, especially those under 30 years old, are spending a great deal of time speaking to people they are not with, at the expense of those who are actually there”. Groups of people can sit together talking…But not to each other. To people that might not even be in the same city as them. This could result in social alienation.
http://www.itu.int/telecom-wt99/press_serv...mobile.html#The
But yet, it has been suggested (by, for instance, Jill Attewell(2003) of the National Literacy Trust) that use of text messaging can result in poor grammar and spelling skills.
Mobile phone technology is improving all the time. Perhaps it will evolve to a point whereby they are less used for purposes of communication, and more used for the purposes of computation, or even browsing the Internet.


The Internet is quite possibly the most important step towards eLife, so in order to understand the influences that eLife will have on society, it is necessary to first analyse the influence the Internet has had.
There are different viewpoints on the impact that the 'net has had on the users social activities and skills. To quote Prof.dr. Liesbet van Zoonen(2003) “The first dilemma in the existing body of research is that it consists of contradictory results about the kind of effects: on the one hand, there is research that finds empirical reason to conclude that Internet use will produce a further disintegration of community life, a loss of social contacts and a decrease in feelings of well being (e.g. Kraut, Patterson, Lundmark, Kiesler et al., 1998; Nie & Erbring, 2000; UCLA, 2000). On the other hand there is also substantial evidence that Internet use engenders participation in virtual communities, is beneficial for the maintenance and proliferation of social relations and heightens self esteem (e.g. Kazmer & Haythorhthwaite, 2001; LaRose, Eastin & Gregg, 2001; Pew, 2000, 2001)”.

Clearly, these two results contradict each other. Why is that? To further quote Prof.dr. Liesbet van Zoonen(2003) : “Many studies are now moving away from thinking of the Internet as a separate (positive or negative) factor in everyday life towards a view in which Internet is an integrated part of it, being affected by it, as well as affecting it (Haythornthwaite (2001) )”

This indicates that the Internet should instead be considered a part of everyday life, instead of as an external influence upon that life.

Furthermore, Ivan Goldberg, M.D(1997), theorized a disorder called Internet Addiction Syndrome. Those suffering from this syndrome supposedly display symptoms such as the following:
•
1: Tolerance, as defined by either of the following:
A need for markedly increased amounts of time on Internet to achieve satisfaction.
Markedly diminished effect with continued use of the same amount of time on Internet.
•
2: Withdrawal, as manifested by either A or B below:
(A) the characteristic withdrawal syndrome, 1, 2 and 3 below
1.Cessation of (or reduction) in Internet use that has been heavy and prolonged.
Two (or more) of the following, developing within several days to a month after Criterion:
(a) psychomotor agitation
(b) anxiety
© obsessive thinking about what is happening on the Internet
(d) fantasies or dreams about the Internet
(e) voluntary or involuntary typing movements of the fingers
1.The symptoms in Criterion 2 cause distress or impairment in social, occupational or another important area of functioning
(B) Use of Internet or a similar on-line service is engaged in to relieve or avoid withdrawal symptoms.

Clearly, the Internet does affect people. But in what ways does using the Internet change a persons’ life? There are a wide variety of ways.
The first of these is communication. There are many ways to communicate online with friends and family. Emails, Instant Messaging and suchlike abound. But yet, there is no restriction to merely communicating with existing friends and family. There are many, many forums available so that those with common interests may meet without having physically met. Indeed, Internet friendships can be formed without either having met, seen, or heard the other at all. One result of this is that those that tend to be shy around other people can make friends far easier than under normal circumstances.

A second consideration is the concept of e-commerce. Online shops, auctions, and so on. Through use of the Internet, it is now possible to order items that you desire, that may not be available in a local shop. Or in the case of particularly rare items, to see if anybody is willing to sell. This aids individuals that, for whatever reason, cannot leave their house to make purchases. Their products would be brought directly to their door.

Whenever dealing with the transfer of money, security issues must also be considered. Spyware, a kind of malicious software that allows other people to view your computer activity remotely, may be used to gain access to account details and other personal information. This is a clear invasion of privacy. The extent of this problem is such that “55% of online users have been infected with spyware”.
In addition to Spyware, viruses, worms and the like are a major concern. It is estimated that in 2003, PC viruses cost approximately businesses $55 Billion in damages, and “losses reported by (Internet Fraud)victims totaled $54 million, versus $17 million the year before, and complaints referred to law enforcement totalled 48,252, compared to 16,755 in 2001”.
If we are to utilise computers in every aspect of our life, we must be sure that both our information, and our systems are safe to use and access.

A final consideration is the fact that while many people have access to the Internet, some people cannot afford a computer, or do not properly understand how to use them. If, as a society, we develop a dependence upon the Internet, then it is possible for a “subclass” to develop, that does not have access to the same facilities as everybody else.

Clearly, the Internet has a wide impact on society. As people integrate it more into their own lives, they either become more or less capable of functioning in the real world. But what if the Internet was accessible in the real world, all around us?

The concept behind Ubiquitous Computing is the best described as the opposite of virtual reality, whereby a person is placed inside a computer generated world. Instead, the computer is taken into the real world, and embedded into the environment that surrounds us.
When working properly, anyone using a Ubiquitous Computer system would barely be aware they were using it. One of the ultimate aims of this type of computing is to allow those individuals that are not computer literate to feel more comfortable accessing and interacting with the data the system provides. This would mean that the previously mentioned 'subclass' would no longer exist, as the computers would be available for public use, or would come built into whatever items such a person might buy.
For example, parents can keep track of their child's current location, due to tracking devices sewn into clothing (Jurgen Bohn, Vlad Coroama, Marc Laugheinrich, Friedemann Matter, Michael Rosh, Institute for Pervasive Computing, Switzerland)
Naturally, this raises a variety of security questions. Such devices could result in a silent, invisible surveillance network completely surrounding us in all areas of life. Furthermore, it also makes the concept of hackers a much more real, physical threat. They could, for instance, reprogram a car, and make it drive into a nearby tree. Or reprogram a fridge to ruin food. The level of malicious possibilities becomes nearly endless, and would no doubt make security an even more widely discussed issue.



In conclusion, having computers maintain every aspect of our lives will rather clearly have a large number of societal benefits…and drawbacks. The world would be brought together, communication would be made even easier than it is now, and data would be more readily available. Automatic control over a variety of systems would be available; making purchases can be done without leaving the house. But what of social isolation? Certainly, it would be possible to communicate with virtually anybody, or even any group of people, at any given moment in time. However, this makes it less likely that we will make new friends, as we would be too busy communicating with those already available. The people that surround us would become little more than background noise, as we chat, or text, or whatever means of communication is due to become popular in future.



This post has been edited by Drekal on Jun 7 2006, 01:27 PM

[Juron Pilo]

Hrm. Is your repeated use of the word "clearly" intentional, or accidental? Other than that, it looks great at a cursory glance.

This post has been edited by Juron Pilo on Jun 7 2006, 11:30 PM