Chapter 5:

IT Culture
and Society
Social Impact of Information Technology

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.
Social Impact of Information Technology

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.

One of the most noticeable developments precipitated by Information

Technology is the elimination of numerous barriers that traditionally
separated individuals, organizations, and societies at different geo-
graphic locations
Social Impact of Information Technology –
Globalization
Offshore outsourcing is one of the manifestations of the trend toward
globalization —blurring of geographic barriers— that is accelerated by
information technology
Social Impact of Information Technology –
Working from Home or Virtual Office
All forms of telecommuting give employees greater flexibility in their
working locations and hours. Working in a virtual office is one way an
employee can telecommute by completing job duties virtually anywhere
—a car, hotel room, airport, or any hotspot.

Telecommuting (or telework) played a significant role in business conti-

nuity and continuity of operations planning
Information Technology Positive
Impacts on People
Access to information:
• Good services

Improved access to education:

• Distance learning and on-line tutorials
• New tools, new opportunities:
• New software
• IT Positive Impacts on organizations
Information Technology Positive
Impacts on Organization
Communication:
• E-mail, websites, video conferencing, etc.
Information management:
• Data mining of customer information to produce lists for targeted ad-
vertising. Improved stock control, resulting in less wastage, better
cash flow, etc.
Security:
• Encryption methods can keep data safe from unauthorized people,
both while it is being stored or while it is being sent electronically.
this is important for reasons such as data protection legislation or
commercial secrecy.
Information Technology Positive
Impacts on Society
• Increasing opportunities for education
• Improving communication
• Allowing people to participate in a wider, even worldwide, society.
• The ability to perform ‘impossible’ experiments’ by using simulations
Information Technology Negative
Impacts on People
IT Negative Impacts on People
• Job loss: One of the largest negative effects of ICT can
be the loss of a person’s job
• Reduced personal interaction: Being able to work from
home is usually regarded as being a positive effect of us-
ing ICT, but there can be negative aspects as well.
• Reduced physical activity: Users may adopt a more
sedentary lifestyle. This can lead to health problems such
as obesity, heart disease, and diabetes.
Information Technology Negative
Impacts on Organization
IT Negative Impacts on Organizations
• Cost: A lot of ICT hardware and software is expensive,
both to purchase and to maintaining.
• Competition: this is usually thought of as being a good
thing, but for some organization being exposed to greater
competition can be a problem.
• Security: Data must be kept secure, Internet connec-
tions must be protected from attack, new viruses and
other forms of malware are released nearly every day.
Information Technology Negative
Impacts on Society
IT Negative Impacts on Society
• This can have numerous negative effects, such as:
• causing a digital divide between those who can access
information and those who cannot
• reducing levels of education and understanding due to
the vast amount of incorrect and misleading information
that is available causing moral and ethical problems due
to the nature of some of the material available
Influence on Culture

Online Reviews
Weblogging
YouTube Learners
Influence on Culture –
Online Reviews
With the proliferation of online information, it is easy to find details on a
certain movie you want to watch or a book you would like to read

For example, the Rotten Tomatoes (https://www.rottentomatoes.com/)

you can make a decision in watching a movie simply by reading the re-
views of other people.

This trend of having other people do the task first for you, like watching
the full movie, and informing people online if its good or not, is an ex-
ample of how technology is affecting basic human behavior of decision-
making
Influence on Culture –
Online Reviews

Example of Review on Rot-

ten Tomatoes

Movie name: 2001: A Space

Odyssey
Influence on Culture –
Weblogging
For example, food bloggers posting pic-
tures of their meals in restaurant along
with a review of what they eat.

Because it is a trend, it created a culture

of people dining with friends or family but
instead of simple eating and interacting
with them, people would first take pictures
of their dinner and post it online.

This is one typical example of when tech-

nology affects the culture of social interac-
tion
Influence on Culture –
YouTube Leaners
YouTube is one of the most popular social media sites. People can
watch videos, comment on it, upload their own videos, etc. But apart
from being a social media site, one of the main use of YouTube is the
extensive video list made available online.

People can search for almost anything online and there is bound to be a
YouTube tutorial of it.

This changes how students get to learn certain skills sets.

Influence on Social Behavior

Cyberbullying
Netiquette
Influence on Social Behavior –
Cyberbullying
Behavioral choice especially of teenagers or adolescents are influ-
enced by technology.

Cyberbullying is a serious phenomenon brought about by social me-

dia.

Cyberbullying is an unwanted, hostile behavior done by individuals to

other people in the hope of gaining control over them. Whether it be
physical or psychological, victims of bullying often end up with personal
traumas.

Cyberbullying can be in a form of messages and images, usually in the

Influence on Social Behavior –
Cyberbullying
Influence on Social Behavior –
Netiquette
Netiquette is a combination of the words internet and etiquette.

It describes how one should act while online. Netiquette brings in poli-
cies for all qualities of the internet, including the use of World Wide Web
(WWW), email services, File Transfer Protocol (FTP), chat rooms, and
instant messaging.

Types of netiquette
- Social Media
- Email Services
- Chat Rooms, Instant Messaging
Influence on Social Behavior –
Netiquette on Social Media

The use of social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and
more is not exactly a bad habit nor a good habit of one’s personal activity.
Influence on Social Behavior –
Netiquette on Social Media
Rules that enforce users to follow and be aware of the disadvantages
that it may cause everyone and the benefits that each person experi-
ence (Spira, 2010)

A. The Personalize IT Rule – An example is requesting to be your

friend on Facebook, or follow you on Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.
Make sure to put restrictions in terms of accepting a friend or followers
on your social media. It is not about having the most followers or friends,
what is important is to know who you are interacting with and how you
interact with them
Influence on Social Behavior –
Netiquette on Social Media
B. The Off-limits Rule – Someone who is
using or having social media accounts must
know their limitations in terms of giving
opinions on different subjects or topics
about your school, politics, work place, reli-
gion, personal information, and even some
controversial subjects.

This is to avoid putting yourself in bad situ-

ation which may lead you to dire conse-
quences later on.
Influence on Social Behavior –
Netiquette on Social Media
B. The Tag – You’re it Rule– Tagging
someone either with your status post, or
photos must be considered at all times.
You may also restrict someone from tag-
ging you with their posts and photos of
them that are not flattering or admiring.

Always think of your safety, as well as the

other’s personal boundaries
Influence on Social Behavior –
Netiquette for Email Services

Email services such as sending

and receiving an email from
someone anywhere in the world
are used in numerous context.

Shown in the figure are some

guidelines in composing an email
Influence on Social Behavior –
Netiquette for Chat Rooms & Instant Messaging

Joining chat rooms and sending instant messages, although not a

mandatory activity in social media, has become a trend for users. This is
especially beneficial for people working in different places such as a per-
son working overseas while his or her friend or relative is in the Philip-
pines.

There are guidelines in using instant messaging applications for there

are instances that someone might interrupt and request you to accept
him/her to be connected to your messengers’ accounts without really
knowing that person
Influence on Social Behavior –
Netiquette for Chat Rooms & Instant Messaging

A. Before you accept a private conversation, especially with someone

not on your friends list, think long and hard before accepting. Not
everyone online may be as they seem.
B. In a group chat, include only those that are in your friends list
C. If possible, do not give your personal information while chatting, in-
cluding your photos or selfies
D. When in doubt, save a copy or make backup of your conversation
E. You must logout from your account at all times, especially if you are
in a public place, like a computer shop
F. You may opt to customize your account settings from Public to Pri-
vate account
Thank you