The last two decades have seen enormous changes in the way people's lives are affected by IT. Twenty years ago few people had access to a computer whilst today most people use them at work, home or school and use of email and the Internet is an everyday event.
These developments have brought many benefits to our lives. Email makes communication (particularly overseas) much easier and more immediate. This has numerous benefits for business, commerce and education. The World Wide Web means that information on every conceivable subject is now available to us. Clearly, for many people this has made life much easier and more convenient.
However, not all the effects of the new technology has been beneficial. Many people feel that the widespread use of email is destroying traditional forms of communication such as letter writing, telephone and face to face communication. With ever increasing use of information technology these negative elements are likely to increase in the future.
The huge size of the Web means it is almost impossible to control and regulate. This has led to many concerns regarding children accessing unsuitable websites. Unfortunately, this kind of problem might even get worse in the future at least until more regulated systems are set up. Yet perhaps the biggest threat to IT in years to come will be the computer virus – more sophisticated or more destructive strains are almost inevitable.
In conclusion, developments in IT have brought many benefits, yet I believe developments relating to new technology in the future are likely to produce many negative effects that will need to be addressed very carefully.
