In this paper I will discuss how Information technology has brought about significant societal ethical changes. Users of technology in society and business today need to be increasingly aware of the need for the ethical use of technology. Information technology (IT) users, need a code of ethics developed, so that they can navigate through the ethical issues they confront while using information technology. When ethical violations occur, enforcement of the ethical standards is required. With the advanced of online education, there is a renewed need to interpret a code of ethics within the academic setting by observing academic integrity as users have the ability to interact with surprising and continuous amounts of information.
The extensive nature that the society has access to IT today has brought about significant societal ethical changes. The most profound effect is the unbundling of information. Evans and Wuster (as cited by Britz, 2008) defined unbundling is the ability of information to move by itself and the interlinking of documents. Consequently, this has enabled us the ability to reach multiple people at once, almost instantaneously, interact with information and customize and distribute information at almost zero cost. The growth of social media (SM) has had a profound effect on society. Some of these effects are not always positive as witnessed by the London riots of 2011.Social media was blamed by the British government, for inciting and fuelling the riots (Salman, Saad & Ali, 2013).
Kallman and Grillo (as cited by Molnar,2008) stated the order of magnitude effect and the effort effect influence how human beings view the ethical situations involving computers. The order of magnitude effect is due to the fact that c...
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Ethics of technology is one important aspect of ethics and is required to answer all the ethical questions which are specific to the technological age. Ethics of technology can also be defined as “Cyber-ethics”. The main reason for the existence of cyber-ethics is to examine the impact that cyber related crimes has for our social, legal and moral systems. Cyber ethics can also help us in calculating the social policies and laws that we frame with respect to issues...
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Within the last ten years, our world has arguably changed more than in any other decade in history. One of the main drivers of that change is technology; it is rapidly changing with it the structure of our society. Technology affects every individual, whether directly or indirectly. Many people fail to take the time to notice and analyze the recent trends in society, doing so is important not only to ponder upon the past, but also to anticipate the future and prepare for the lifestyles that we will soon have to deal with. However, looking at the current and past trends in society, the future looks quite bleak. Even though technology provides vast advances in many fields, society has reached a point of no return, where moral values have eroded and the desire for human contact is all but lost. Mazarr (1999) believes that in today's society, there is "a stark amorality as individuals and groups seek selfish rewards unbalanced by a consideration for the health of the society as a whole or of its less fortunate members". Technology’s outperformance of ethics and morals is not only extremely dangerous, but also very realistic scenario as society stands to lose any type of accountability that it previously had.
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The computer is considered one of the most technological advances of the twentieth century. As the general public becomes increasingly ‘computer literate,' the gap between technology and peoples' intellect notably shrinks. The readily available computers, software, and assorted output devices have enlightened many but, in turn, have increased the using of computers for unethical activities, privacy invasion and illegal purposes. Legal sanctions against abusive use of computers are a reactive approach. A proactive approach is to teach students about computer ethics in classrooms. An effective teaching method are the presentation of ethical scenarios. It is anticipated that through this method, students will personalize the need for developing ethical standards of behavior. The ultimate goal is for students, if necessary, to change their set of personal beliefs to include ethics.
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Technology has transformed the world. The ability to represent and process information digitally, including text, values, images, and sound, has allowed us to be more productive and to extend our intellect and understanding of life in this universe. The power of computing can improve the everyday aspect of life, both professionally and personally. Along with a variety of benefits, computers also generate a wide variety of ethical dilemmas, such as the digital divide, property rights, privacy, freedom of speech, and health-related issues associated with living a digital
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