What are the political and social implications of the new technologies and the methods of their consumption?

People who use new technology are often worried about the amount of time spent using it, there have been many issues with the amount of time that young people spend on social networking sites such as Facebook as it takes up a high amount of their time as well as causing trouble. For example, the USA put relationship trouble down to Facebook, "When Facebook gets involved, relationships can quickly fall apart" http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/mar/08/facebook-us-divorces this causes personal and social implications because it can destroy peoples lives, such as cyber bullying, young people have committed suicide over what has been said to them by people over social networking and this causes a huge issue amongst society and creates problems causing parents to be either very strict on new technology or not at all. "The family unit is even more vulnerable today with soaring divorce rates, high rates of teenage suicide"

technological change brings social change. technology alienates people from the world around them, they are so engrossed in updating statuses listening to music and tweeting that they are completely oblivious to what is happening around them. this causes frustration for some people especially families as children isolate themselves and communication between the family becomes broken, which can cause arguments.


Sherry Turkle says how we are connected with the world but are isolated from the world. As a population we socialize virtually but not physically, the original use of the internet and computers was to be a tool to help with everyday life, but now we are provided with virtual world where people can go in and out of to interact with other people. she suggests that people have trouble distinguishing themselves between their human form and machines, that our minds are so engrossed in computers it becomes us. "Technology is seductive when what it offers meets our human vulnerabilities" this provides social implications because people are no longer willing to communicate and interact with each other on a more physical level, it seems we all want to live a "Second life, a virtual world where you get to build and avatar, a house, a family and a social life". Without people interacting with each other it creates an alienated world, a world that could soon become deserted where we will never have to move. Having home deliveries and ordering food on line has become more popular, causing even more people to stay at home and live separate lives from each other. 


http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=_Dhf5xEZZD0C&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false


In terms of political issues, more serious issues in terms of world wide issues have arisen such as war, the internet had triggered the start of the Arab Spring. new technology means that the middle east have managed to create protests, demonstrations and riots over social networking sites all in an attempt to raise awareness of their states attempts to censor the internet. Facebook gives people the "the power to broadcast their grievances to the world and to galvanise an uprising" make everyone aware of their power, and Facebook helped them inform everyone of this. It caused an uprising as they began to realise that it gave them a voice so that they could be heard. with the introduction of Web 2.0 it allowed others to voice their own opinion rather than take what was already there, they have the power to shape and form what is now on the internet that has no regulation. 


http://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/staying-in/what-s-on-tv/how-facebook-changed-the-world-the-arab-151690


political: arab spring, hacking into government documents and phones. forming riots and groups on social networking sites
http://www.passioncomputing.com.au/articles/the-social-impact-of-technology.aspx