Modern Computers Advantages and Disadvantages on society

Computers alter people’s lives, interpersonal experiences, and even morality. However, since computers were rare a few years ago, this drastic transition was not as widespread as it is today. Clifford Berry and Dr. John V. Atanasoff built the first interactive electronic computer in 1937, creating what is known as a first-generation computer. Up until about 1946, various modifications were made to this machine. The first generation of machines was incapable of doing more than one operation at a time and lacked an operating system. Second-generation computers were produced between 1947 and 1962, and they used transistors instead of vacuum tubes, increasing reliability. In 1953, the (International Business Machines) IBM series was introduced to the market. These computers had an operating system, memory and about a hundred programming languages present.

The third generation computers that were made from 1963 to present were more powerful, smaller and with increased reliability. IBM introduced the first personal computer (PC) in 1981 which was a significant milestone in the world of computers. In 1984, Apple introduced Macintosh, an icon-driven computer and finally in 1990s Windows operating system was availed to the market. As a result of various improvements, computers have become a handy tool used in all spheres of life. They present multiple advantages like enhanced communication, improved quality of life and cost-effectiveness but also has demerits like moral decadence, underdevelopment of social skills and poor life skills.

Computers enhance communication through connecting people in social media platforms. A person can conveniently communicate with their loved one even if they are separated by distance and are miles away from each other. The quality of communication has been enhanced since one can send images and video through the internet without incurring unnecessarily high costs (Fan and Gordon p.75). Additionally, people of different cultures can also interact through the internet to even enhance and spice up life. Some of these connections become handy as they may offer employment opportunities, growth and education opportunities. This ability to interact with many people at any time in any place has become handy since time for physical meetings are reduced, and loved ones are distributed globally making it quite hard to meet regularly.

Computers also enhance the quality of life by offering enough updates knowledge on the internet at affordable charges. This information comes from different sources, and a person well versed with credible searching information in the net will benefit greatly. If one needs reliable information from experts about health, they can access it online, and be able to make informed decisions. The Internet also offers materials that can enhance the quality of life of the members of the society. For example, one can watch videos of workouts and exercise in the comfort of one’s house and the ability to enjoy the incredible results that come with a healthy lifestyle. One does not have to continuously go to a nutritionist to know the nutrient content of a given meal since the internet has an application that can conveniently assist a person to identify their daily dietary needs. The quality of life is also attained since one can use the computer to verify the information provided by the doctor. For instance, one can research more information about a drug or given symptoms that can be handy in treatment to avoid misdiagnosis. During the leisure time, the computer can be a source of any form of entertainment that suits the individual needs of a person. Good music can be stored to assist in the relaxation or even movies and other resources that one may require.

Through the computer, cost-effectiveness can be realized in the society. Computers save time in more ways than maybe people can recognize. For example, all the information that a lecturer needs to share with the students could be stored in a computer, occupy less space and save time in retrieval as opposed to papers (Stošić, p.111). In storing information in a paper or book, it becomes challenging to update the content since one may need another printout. Additionally, students can take their studies online and save time to be able to carry out other activities like family responsibilities. The enhancement of the usage of computer has been beneficial as it has improved the quality of life a better professional experience that translates to general life happiness. For example, with computers, employees can work from the comfort of their homes which improves productivity and is essential in staff motivation. Highly motivated employees are less likely to suffer from stress or depression and thus time and resources that would be used for therapy. Additionally, such parents will have adequate time with their families and therefore better lives and ample parenting time courtesy of the availability of the computer.

Despite the significant benefits that the society has enjoyed because of computers, some demerits have also been identified. The digitalization of life has resulted in reduced face to face interactions even between members of the same family resulting in less bonding and shallow human relationships as argued by Nesi et al. (p.475). The development of social skills is hindered since people are not allowed to have one-on-one time with friends and most times is spent on social media. This inclination has resulted in great networks but little deep interpersonal connections that are handy in difficult times like grieving. As such, a person lives disillusioned that he or she has friends, but when they need them most, very few are present given that those were not real friends. The isolation also has denied people interactive time that in instrumental in the development of life skills. For example, people have poor problem-solving skills and patience as such values are undeveloped. Instead of a person gaining training on the ideals of life from other human beings, they get such from computers which prove unsustainable over time. It is no wonder that some teenagers who have been glued to computers throughout their lives feel not to fit in the society. Since life skills are absent, when difficulties emerge, and one is unable to deal with it, cases of depression and suicidal continue to ache the society (Reinecke et al. p. 90). Also, excessive drinking or alcohol and drug abuse could be attributed to unlimited usage of computers.

The use of computers has also resulted in moral decay in the society. Sexual predation is common in this age since children are vulnerable and lack the mental ability to make a proper judgment regarding prospective ‘friend.’ These pedophiles lure children into sexual activities like cyber-sex which corrupt the morals of children (Babchishin, Hanson and VanZuylen p. 45). In fact, some these predators establish contact with adolescents and plan on physical meeting sometimes resulting to date rapes or sexual assault. Babchishin, Hanson, and VanZuylen (p.46) assert that in situations where physical meetings do not happen, children may be exposed to adult pornographic literature which will ruin their sexual orientation a great deal. The sad thing is that the pedophiles know how to convince the children not to share with the parents. Without computers, such occurrences would not be present.

Moral decay is also escalated by the adverts made through the computers. As much as they look good and just marketing tools, they are full of deceptive words and influences. For instance, those adverts have been associated with child obesity since they center on high-calories fast foods. Also, Jacob (p.2320) affirm that nude and semi-nude images are common in adverts nowadays and corrupt the morals of the society. The computers also allow access to immoral content that can ruin the purity of a person’s conscience. The easy accessibility of computers means that a person can view pornographic literature and videos secretly. Such content leaves a person disillusioned about sex and glamorizes above the necessary bounds. For married couples, it may result in dissatisfied sexual lives since no human being in their normal state could be able to maintain the sexual standards presented by the porn stars as noted by Wright, Steffen, and Sun (p. 7). For the singles, sex is idolized, and physical appearance becomes primary in romantic relationships instead of substance and content.

In conclusion, the history of computers would be traced back from 1937 when the first digital computer was introduced, and significant developments have occurred to result in the sizeable personal computers that exhibit power and reliability. The adoption of computers in the society has led to increased quality of life, knowledge availability and many things being done within a short span of time. Nonetheless, computers have increased moral corruption giving rise to pedophiles, pornographic content and other unhelpful resources. Increased computer usage has also resulted in reduced social interaction and few interpersonal relationships in the society whose consequences are dire.

Works Cited

Babchishin, Kelly M., R. Karl Hanson, and Heather VanZuylen. “Online child pornography offenders are different: A meta-analysis of the characteristics of online and offline sex offenders against children.” Archives of sexual behavior 44.1 (2015): 45-66.

Fan, Weiguo, and Michael D. Gordon. “The power of social media analytics.” Communications of the ACM 57.6 (2014): 74-81.

Jacob, Dr. Devakumar. “Image of Women in Media today.” Human Rights International Research Journal: ISSN: 2320-6942.

Nesi, Jacqueline, et al. “Technology‐Based Communication and the Development of Interpersonal Competencies Within Adolescent Romantic Relationships: A Preliminary Investigation.” Journal of Research on Adolescence 27.2 (2017): 471-477.

Reinecke, Leonard, et al. “Digital stress over the life span: the effects of communication load and internet multitasking on perceived stress and psychological health impairments in a German probability sample.” Media Psychology 20.1 (2017): 90-115.

Stošić, Lazar. “The importance of educational technology in teaching.” International Journal of Cognitive Research in Science, Engineering, and Education (IJCRSEE) 3.1 (2015): 111-114.

Wright, Paul J., Nicola J. Steffen, and Chyng Sun. “Is the relationship between pornography consumption frequency and lower sexual satisfaction curvilinear? Results from England and Germany.” The Journal of Sex Research (2017): 1-7.