No.4 - Computers in our World, Today (Part 2)
The Social Effects of Computers
You've probably seen the adverts for the new Macintosh - the iMac. A mate of mine (when he first saw it),
said "What, are they trying to make computers cool or something?". He had a point.
If you are interested in computers, hang around on an IRC channel all day, or have your internet connection
as your 'best friend' on BT, then you are in the sterotype group of the computer nerd. Computer nerds
wear string vests, eat crisps all day, are fat, spotty and geeky. Anybody reading this would probably not fit this
sterotype, and would perhaps be a little upset to think themselves computer nerds.
But computers are influencing our social lives to the extent that a sterotype group has been formed.
This issue looks at how computers affect our bahviour and development.
Computer Game addiction
Well admit it, how many hours a week do you play computer games? For me about 8. Maybe more. Some kids waste as much as 30 hours playing games, only shifting their eyes from the console to look at a game magazine or venture out to buy the latest game. Its a problem that many people believe can cause all sorts of problems. Lets say there is an extreme case and a kid is growing up playing 30 hours of computer games a week. Many games do mimic reality and can disorientate development. For example, a racing game needs special developed judgement to make corners etc. This kid could grow up believing that it is possible to spin 360 around a bend at 100 mph. Unlikely, but possible.Then there's the game that simulates violence. Theres a lot of contrasting views on this one, some say its a safe way to release anger or stress, while others say it feeds it. I personally have no problem with 'blood', bits of laughingly unrealisitc bits of gore chucked about the place. But I wouldn't say it relieved stress. Quite the opposite, on wireplay Quake when I'm not playing well and someone keeping killing me repeatedly. I can get quite worked up. Because the violence is not physical, it can't possibly relieve anger.
Anyway, sitting there for 30 hours is time you body loses gaining exercise, and developing social skills, and working.
Then there are the physical factors. Sitting looking at the screen turns you into a 'couch patato', perhaps inevidably falling into the fat, spotty sterotype. There is also the fear that one day technology will advance to the stage where we can replicate reality to the most minute detail, rather like the holodeck on Star Trek. If we become engrossed in games, we subsitute the world around us for the virtual world in the game.
The effect of community is colossal for some games. For wireplay, for instance, everybody knows everybody else and I'd say I was quite well known on wireplay. I have never met any of these people but I still class them as friends. The virtual community is really the best part of playing quake, the sense of belonging to a group where there is no discrimintation at all. If I were to scoot down to the local youth club, then people would (consiously or unconsiously) judge me by my looks, dress etc. But in on-line communities there is no such discrimination and it is very easy to be open with people you don't know.
The Environment
Computers are supposed to be environmently friendly. "Green" computers are dubbed because they don't emit bad gases, most monitors turn themselves off to conserve power. The computer is supposed to fill some bloke's vision of the paperless office (probably Bill Gate's) so we would never need to cut down trees. That idea is sound, but impractical, whatever MS Office 97 might claim to do.The main exception to the environmentally friendly image of the computer is the laser printer, which emits ozone. It's cartridges also need to be replaced regulary and also consume a lot of power compared to other periherals.
Tommy's Campaign is a charity where you send off old printer cartridges and they are recycled and 50p is sent to medical projects nationwide. 4 More info, call 0171 620 0188. The fact that computers control heating in offices and factories also means that heating can be cleverly reserved for rooms with people in, saving money and energy. Computers help to control manufacturing processes so that it is less likey to be runined through human error. And the dawning of e-mail as a credible office use enables many people to work from home, or at least travel less, reducing pressure on roads and traffic. In all, computers do a good job for the environment.
Right and Wrong
Along with computers there are the rights and wrongs we take for granted. Is it against your ethics for instance, to steal? I would hope it is. But I suspect that somewhere on your hard disk lies a copied game or program from your mate from work, or perhaps information that would invade people's privacy. Could you honestly say if I hacked into your history folder I wouldn't find any porno pages?There are many moral values that seemed to be ignored by computer users. Petty software theft for example. Pornograpy. Even back to games - is it in your moral standard to kick seven shades of shit out of some bloke, in the name of fun? There are many people who wouldn't realise that these things are wrong. It seems that these have become small things to worry about. Hardly anyone thinks that when they copy their game to someone they are commiting a crime, or it least to think the consequences could be a conviction.
Conclusion
I hope I have convinced you in this essay that there are aspects of our behaviour that are geared towards computers, our attitudes and how they effect our lives. These facts are furthur evidence that computers have radically changed our lives, and continue to do so.