Have you ever wondered why information technology revolution has become the talk of the day? It has become a pivotal topic of discussion on radio, television, in newspapers, and other sources of information, primarily because of its wonderful works, which impact the present century like a tonic of sorts.
Do you know that over 70 percent of global population, at present, relies largely on information technology? The wholesome truth is that millions upon millions of people worldwide have benefited and are benefitting from the flips of IT. That said, it is about time we woke up from our slumber. The knowledge from information technology is used in almost every field, even where it is mostly unexpected. No wonder this era is known as“the era of IT.” Its impacts are, in fact unprecedented. And now, we cannot just imagine a world without information technology. It is no longer used by only the engineers and scientists, neither is it manipulated by the eggheads; but now by vast multitude of people worldwide.
The naked truth remains that the impact of information technology can never be over emphasized. Just take for instance; printing was one of the first big breakthroughs in information technology. This has enabled literacy and education to go up from 10% to over 80% within 50 years, by making available vast amount of reading materials. Other examples of breakthroughs in IT are life-changing inventions like telegraph, telephone, wireless cum radio, television, broadcasting, and computers. Other thoughtful offshoots of IT include but are not limited to – satellite transmissions and optical fiber. All these inventions have gone a long way in changing our world for the better – with additional packages of comfort, ease, effectiveness, efficiency, interalia.
And, in case you are of one of the many cynics who still think that information technology is just one of the tactics used by computer literates to deceive their counterparts, you need to wake up! From everyday communication through instant messages and emails, to banking, travelling, studying and shopping, information technology has touched every aspect of your life.
EFFECTS OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN THIS OUR COMMON ERA
Information technology influence societal values, by changing expectations and realities. Besides its feat in saving energy and maximizing potential, information technology enables greater knowledge of international issues, values and cultures. Our world has become a compact village.
The twenty-first century era will be remembered for its fast-paced technological development. Information technology has helped to shape our international and domestic political responses to issues, for instance IT revolution in response to the West Africa Ebola epidemic and the Nepalese earthquake was groundbreaking. What about improving government responsiveness in public service delivery in rich and poor countries alike? And what about its impacts on democracy, citizens’ participation, poverty alleviation, as well as improvement of human rights? The truth is – if you are not in the field of IT, you may not understand how indispensably it affects your life.
With the introduction of information technology, the business world is changed forever. Businesses use information technology to ensure that departments run smoothly. They use IT in a number of different departments including human resources, finance manufacturing and security. Using information technology, businesses have the ability to view changes in the global market, and even faster than expected. Using information technology, a business outfit like Amazon is working to help busy customers do their grocery shopping. Just imagine, with a few clicks, a website allows the customer to submit an order from his comfort zone. This is wonderful!
Talk of education – the enterprise is changing, as the modern world of information technology continues to grow. With so much progress happening, it’s important that education be able to reach students in new ways, so that they become prepared for future dynamics. It is a well-known fact that students are the leaders, inventors, teachers and businessmen and women of tomorrow. Hence, they deserve to be rightly shaped.
Improvement in information communication technology has allowed for great reforms in healthcare. Most medical offices can now send receive digital medical information from doctors. This has allowed costs to be lowered and increased the amount of time that doctors spend with patients compared to what obtains in paperwork routine. Security improvement in information technology has made it possible that your medical information is secure, no matter where it is sent. You can even have prescription sent digitally to local pharmacies at most medical offices. Information technology has also updated a technology that a doctor can use to diagnose or treat a patient, using Computerized Axial Tomography (CAT) or Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans, which are used to find illnesses that, are not found with ordinary blood test.
Did you know that IT revolution has even transformed also the areas of defense and security? With so many transactions done online, and so much information available online, it is important to keep all safe. Information technology makes it possible for your online data to stay secure until it will be accessed by the proper channels. With the use of password and encryption, information technology hides your personal data from online fraudsters. With these ways, your work can be kept secret and equally protected at the same time.
In the area of defense, also, information technology has provided us with Geographical Information System (GIS). It plays a pivotal role in military operations. The concept of commands, control, communication and coordination in military operations are largely dependent on the availability of accurate information in other to arrive at quick decisions, or for operational orders, which can only be provided with the help of information technology. This is mostly used by the Army, the Navy, The Police and Air Forces; it helps the commands of the military to acquire information fast and use it swiftly to position themselves for future contingencies. This in turn helps them in battlefield management, terrain analysis, monitoring of possible terrorist activity, which helps in defending the country or nation from future possible attacks. That means that information technology really, is a life-saving tool.
IT has done a lot in harnessing modern means of transportation. Before now, traffic congestion has been a serious threat to people in urban areas in different countries. But now, with the help of information technology, such has become an old story. The issue has been curbed with provisions such as automatic traffic light regulation, and so many other modern inventions, which have in turn reduced the issue of road accidents, among others. IT also helps in other means of transportation. For instance, it helps aero planes to fly with ease in the air, including its departure and landing. And this has prevented the incident of injurious hazards both on land and in the air.
Information technology is also useful and equally applicable to urban development; it provides invaluable inputs not only for planning of infrastructure, like roads, sewage and drinking water, but also helps to manage important services to various stakeholders. It helps in infrastructural planning, and also in land use planning. This golden technology helps in proper land management, and also in land reclamation. It helps in environmental and slum development planning, which equally helps to stop or reduce the effects of environmental hazards such as earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, flood, among others.
Today, the use of bells, guns, or drums as means of communication has become a thing of the past. This is because IT has provided us with numerous means of communication, which are faster, simpler and more affordable. We were very happy when information technology provided us with some means of communication such as radio and television, but now with the availability of media like mobile cell phones, Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, among others, the feeling is unspeakably awesome.
The miraculous hands of information technology do not leave the agricultural sector untouched. Are you one of those that think that agriculture is left for only the poor and peasant farmers? If yes, think again! The undeniable truth is that it might have appeared so, but that was before, as information technology revolution has also changed everything. In this era, the application of information technology can help farmers produce a great abundance of crops and livestock with more efficiency and also at a lower cost.
In conclusion, with the advent of information technology, globalization has taken an upturn, the world is brought closer, and the world’s economy is quickly becoming a single inter-dependent system. Really, information technology plays a big role in this our common era; it is such a life-saving facility, which is applicable to every field of human endeavor. Much of what people use in this 21stcentury are products of information technology, even household equipments. Businesses, education and even healthcare have all been redesigned and advanced, thanks to information technology revolution in this our common era. IT seems invincible. Remember, information is knowledge, and knowledge is power. Knowledge plus experience is wisdom. Let us use this wisdom to make the best use of this life-saving tool called information technology. Let us also be happily waiting what the future holds for us with the help of information technology.
Inyima Silas
IT4YUS Scholar
