The Social Impact of Computers

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Computers are ubiquitous. As our society grows towards being a culture connected through the Internet, and as prices of these machines gradually decrease, more and more have been purchased by families for their homes and as a result, children are beginning to learn to use the computer at an earlier age. Even if computers are not presently available at the home, a child will almost certainly be exposed to one at school or the library, among other places. Adults today are amazed at the amount of knowledge a child has at such an early age – children generally find that computers gives them a sense of power and accomplishment. “A computer is nothing more than a box of circuits that perform software level tasks for a user. Even the software is little more than instructions to the hardware to perform specified tasks. Therefore, a computer, in and of itself is, neither positive nor negative. Its inherent goodness or badness is determined by the user.” With that being said, there are many positive, with as many negative associations that come along with owning a computer. From a positive perspective, computers provide us with vast amount of resources and information and as a species have made us much smarter. Individually, it has made us more knowledgeable because we can easily find the information we need, although, if the internet were to be taken away, we would become less smart. As the human race becomes more interconnected, it means we have more abilities and the internet has us all wired into one ‘super brain’ that is smarter than any individual. Another example of computing technology is ‘texting’. Humans can now communicate over long distances instantly and easily, but there is a common misconception that ‘texters’ are ‘dumbin... ... middle of paper ... ... computers are a great invention if used with discretion. I use a computer almost every single day to aid me with homework, chat with friends, or even entertain myself by watching a movie or playing a game. I find computers to be a stress-reliever, a ‘gateway to another world’ where one can be whoever they want if they find that they’ve had a bad day at school or work. While I support this positive attitude towards computers everyday, I find, in myself even, that I’ve become slightly addicted, causing me to not get as much sleep as needed or allowing me to do my homework without distraction. Overall, however, I’ve found computers have made me more knowledgeable, even if not pertaining specifically to school and that they’ve prepared me for a future where computer use will be inevitable. Works Cited http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_positive_effects_of_computer

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