Impact of IT - Internet

Emails-

There are a lot of positive facts about emails but there are also a couple of negatives.  To begin with emails can be handy as they are a way of communicating to others through the internet. They are useful for sending information, memos, invitations etc.

An example of this would be, an employer emailing their employees, informing them that a batch of new computer systems will be installed during the week. 

Another fact about email is that it is a free service to use and that you can use it anywhere, as long as you have an internet connection.

An example of this is when you are on holiday and wish to email back to your family.

Emails are also very easy to use. All you need is an email address and the email address of the person you wish to send your email to. Then all you have to do is write in the information.

Although an email has all of these good points there can also be a few problems.

One of these problems is something called *Spam*. Spam is an electronically controlled email which can contain viruses, pop ups etc.

An example of spam would be if you receive an email with a pop up screen, informing you that you have just won an iPad.  By clicking the pop up you will usually be opening a virus.

Another problem would be that if you don’t look at your email for a couple of days, your emails can all start to build up and you might have hundreds to look at which can take a lot of time.

An example of this would be that if you don’t have internet connection for a few days and when you eventually manage to get on to your emails it could be full of un read emails.

Online shopping-

Online shopping is extremely useful. It can save a lot of time, meaning that you have more time to work on assignments, business plans etc.

An example of this would be that instead of having to waste time driving into a shopping centre (e.g. 20-40) minutes and driving out again, you can work on assignments.

Online shopping can also save you a lot of money. This is because instead of you driving into a shop (wasting diesel/petrol), you can get it delivered to your house.

For example if you order something from argos, it will be delivered to your house for free the next day.

It can also be far easier to find what you’re looking for when shopping online.

For example, if you are looking for a t-shirt made by superdry, you simply click in the search bar and write in “superdry t-shirt”.

Online shopping can also have a few disadvantages. The main and most common disadvantage would be identity theft.

An example of identity theft is when someone is using your debit/credit card to buy items for themselves without you knowing.

Another disadvantage would be if you fill out any information wrong when making your account it may not be delivered correctly.

An example of this would be that you misspelled your address or put in the wrong postcode. This would mean that the business would not know where to send your items to.

 Online Banking-

Online banking is very useful for people who check up on their balance often.

It can save a lot of time as you will not have to go to the bank or a cash machine to check your balance. You can also keep an eye on how much money you have been spending, meaning you can set your self a budget.

While online banking can be extremely useful, it can have big disadvantages.

An example of a disadvantage would be if you accidently forgot to sign out of your bank account. Somebody could come along and be able to steal all of your bank information, check your balance etc.

Smart Phones-

All smart phones have been designed to make a persons life a little bit easier. They will all have built in games, memo pads, organizer etc.

An advantage of a smart phone would be that it can help you organize your day meaning that you are not wasting your time trying to figure out what your doing next.

For example, if you have an appointment or meeting, the phone will tell you that it is coming up.

A disadvantage of a smart phone is that they are usually much larger than a normal phone and can be confusing when trying to use them.

For example, it can be hard to find an application due to all of the different files.

Laptop and Netbook computers-

A laptop computer is a portable PC. They were invented for people who take something like a train to work. It would give them a chance to do some work while heading home. Over the years it has evolved and is now used by teenagers across the world at home. A net book is basically a smaller version of a laptop.

An advantage of a laptop/net book is that you can take them anywhere, doing work or browsing the web.

A disadvantage would be that if the battery dies you will need to recharge it before you can use it again.

Mp3 player-

The mp3 player was created for people who didn’t want to carry around CDs and radios. It was mainly used by people who went running. It has now evolved into mp4 players such as *ipods*.

An advantage of an mp4 player is that you can listen to music or play games anywhere you go.

A big disadvantage is that the battery life can be short and will drop faster if the volume is up higher.

Social networking sites-

Social networking sites e.g. facebook, twitter, myspace etc are used by people who wish to social with other people. You can find friends, upload photos and images, talk to strangers etc.

A big advantage of social networking sites is that you are able to communicate with your friends and family at anytime (as long as you have internet connection) and you can communicate with them freely e.g. not spending money on phone.

The main disadvantage of Social networking is that some people may make fake accounts claiming they are someone else. This means that an adult may be pretending to be a child and attempt to talk to other children. This can lead to the child going to meet the adult causing kidnapping etc.

Search websites e.g. Google-

Search sites e.g. Google, where created to make it easier for people to find information on what they where looking for e.g. if you are looking for schools in Northern Ireland you would look up Schools in Northern Ireland and a list of website would appear.

A bid advantage of search websites would be that they save a lot of time on you having to find a website about the information you are looking for example, if you wants to find out about a certain dog e.g. King Charles you would type in *King Charles* in the search engine and a number of different pages will appear.

A disadvantage of search websites is that there are a lot of different sites about e.g. A football team. If you try to look up your favorite football teams official website you could accidently open up a fan based website. By doing this you may also be opening un protected websites, possibly causing viruses. 

Information site e.g. Wikipedia-

Information sites e.g. Wikipedia, where created to help people get a large understanding of a certain subject.

A big advantage of information sites is that they can explain, in large detail, one certain thing, a person, a place etc. For example if you want to look up *America* you type it into the search bar and a page full of information will appear.

A disadvantage on some Information sites like Wikipedia would be that they can be edited by anyone. This means that there may be false information on some of the pages. This will waste time and cause mistakes.