Ethical Issues Regarding Information Technology - 1638 Words

Ethical issues regarding the use of information technology are changing rapidly in our advancing modern society. Historically information technology had seen limited applications and impacts on society in general. More recently, however, this has been changing as information technology has become a part of nearly every business, and personal activity. I will discuss how Information technology has brought about significant societal ethical changes. Users of technology in society and business today need to be increasingly aware of the need for the ethical use of technology. Information technology (IT) users need a code of ethics developed, so that they can navigate through the ethical issues they confront while using information technology.†¦show more content†¦The growth of social media (SM) has had a profound effect on society. Some of these effects are not always positive as witnessed by the London riots of 2011. Social media was blamed by the British government, for inciti ng and fueling the riots. The order of magnitude effect and the effort effect influences how human beings view the moral circumstances involving computers. The order of magnitude effect is, â€Å"due to the fact that computers operate at astronomical speeds as compared to humans, while the effort effect is due to the human nature, that if a job is not worth the exertion then one will probably not do it† (Lafayette). On the flip side, a serious threat is posed by the fact that, the efforts required to access and collect large volumes of data, has been eliminated by information technology capabilities. The lack of face to face interactions while using computers, alters the relationships among people. According to these authors property rights, plagiarism, piracy and privacy have become active issues. Also the benefits of information sharing are often in conflict with attempts to protect the integrity, confidentiality and availability of information. Meanwhile IT is exposed to unethical practices due to absence of far reaching methods of authorization and authentication. â€Å"Aristotle, Plato and Socrates showed us the necessary elements to make a good life in a healthy enduring society† (DeLoatch). However, when this ancient knowledge is applied to the