What do you mean about social impact of information technology ?
Answers
Answer:
BRAINLIST
Social Impact
Computing technologies, like most other forms of technology, are not socially neutral. They affect and are themselves affected by society. Computers have changed the way people relate to one another and their living environment, as well as how humans organize their work, their communities, and their time. Society, in turn, has influenced the development of computers through the needs people have for processing information. The study of these relationships has come to be known as "social informatics."
Computing technology has evolved as a means of solving specific problems in human society. The earliest kinds of computational devices were the mechanical calculators developed by Blaise Pascal (1623–1662) in 1645 and Gottfried Leibniz (1646–1716) in 1694 for solving the navigational and scientific problems that began to arise as Europe entered a new and heightened period of scientific development and international commerce. In 1801 Joseph-Marie Jacquard (1752–1834) invented perhaps the first type of programmed machine, called Jacquard's Loom, in order to automate the weaving of cloth with patterns. Jacquard was motivated by the desire of capitalists in the early Industrial Age who wanted to reduce the cost of producing their goods through mass production in factories.
The twentieth century saw the development of scientific research and engineering applications that required increasingly complex computations. Urgent military needs created by World War II spurred the development of the first electronic computers; the devices in use today are the descendants of these room-sized early efforts to streamline military planning and calculation. The needs and desires of society have subsequently influenced the development of a vast array of computing technologies, including supercomputers , graphics processors, games, digital video and audio, mobile computing devices, and telephones.
Not only have computers changed the way in which workplaces structure their tasks and workers, they have also dramatically changed the work itself. Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) was first introduced in the 1950s with numerically controlled machines. These and other forms of computer-based automation have been associated with the loss of jobs and certain skills, and the need to master new skills. Since the middle of the twentieth century, computer-controlled devices have gradually eliminated certain types of jobs and the need for people to perform particular skills. As a consequence, workers have had to learn new skills in order to continue working in environments that increasingly depend on computers.
One major result has been the shift of some economies, such as that of the United States, from manufacturing to service jobs. Entirely new categories of jobs have been created to support and implement computer technology. In addition, the ease of networking computers has led businesses to relocate jobs to remote locations. For example, a number of companies now hire computer programmers who are located in other countries, such as India, in order to save on labor costs. Within the United States, increasing numbers of companies allow employees to work from their homes or work centers away from the corporate headquarters. These so-called telecommuters are able to communicate with their employers and deliver their work using the Internet.