Information Technology is the use of technology to exchange, store, retrieve and utilize information. In this definition, the word technology refers to computers, systems, and telecommunications.
Information technology finds its applications in every field of life. From online banking to traveling, from seeking medical help to running a business, everything involves the use of information technology. It would not be wrong to say that we are totally dependent on information technology in the present era
The digital revolution has urged us to use information technology without considering its impacts.
You may have heard a well-known proverb:
“To every disadvantage, there is a corresponding advantage.”
Information technology also comes with a number of benefits and limitations. It impacts our society as well as our business. In this article, you will find a list of the pros and cons of information technology.
Pros of information technology
1- It allows you to manage your transactions easily
Information technology allows you to manage your money efficiently. It allows you to make transactions online, without the need of going to banks, standing in long queues, and waiting for your turn to make transactions.
Whether you have to pay your bills, or you have to send money abroad to your relatives, everything is under your control and just one click away.
2- It has globalized the world
The biggest impact of information technology is globalization. It’s because of information technology that the world has become a global village.
Information in one part of the world can easily be shared, processed, and delivered to the other end of the world in no time. It takes a second to connect a person sitting miles away and resolve your international as well as internal affairs.
You can see the world interconnected in every matter. The economy of every country is interlinked with others, making the world operate as an interdependent system.
3- It saves your time
The most remarkable benefit of information technology is that it saves your time. As time is precious, and everyone wants to save and utilize it correctly, information technology allows you to perform tasks in seconds.
Information technology has made tasks easier and quicker to perform. For instance:
- Planning a trip is no more a complicated task as information is available on the internet. You can easily follow directions to monitor distances, book hotels online, and even confirm your ticket online. You can easily perform all these actions in minutes and seconds sitting in your bed.
- If you are going somewhere by road, you can track the traffic situations along the road and discover the shortest possible path for your destination using your mobile. You can save your time, and all this has become possible due to information technology.
4- It saves your money
Information technology allows you to save money. A lot of tasks that were performed by man labor are now done by technology. This has reduced the labor cost a company had to pay for manpower.
Although the advancements in machinery setups require a huge capital cost to install them, yet their operating costs are much less as they require very little labor.
5- It allows efficient communication in business
With information technology, business operations have become easy. Business is all about competition. It requires efficient delivery of information and feedback to assure customer satisfaction.
If your customer finds a defect in your product, he simply gives you feedback via technological platforms. They don’t need to find your address and walk to your place. A simple message can let you know the customer’s issue and your response delivered within minutes can assure your customer that the issue will be resolved soon.
The key factor in the success of a business is effective communication. It is because of information technology that communication is no more a problem.
There was a time when letters were the only mode of communication. Progressing rapidly from letters to phone calls and then to instant messaging, now we have social media where pictures and videos can be shared in nanoseconds.
6- It helps the education sector to grow
Not only in the business and social sector, but information technology has also affected the education sector in a positive way.
Students sitting in one country can easily seek help in their studies from the experts available in a different country.
Students can seek assignment help from professional academic writers providing online services. This has been possible only because of information technology.
Cons of information technology
1- It is sometimes difficult to understand
Although information technology has made our lives easier, we sometimes encounter a situation when it becomes difficult to understand how to deal with the latest technologies.
Information technology has evolved so rapidly that we are now dependent on it for our daily tasks. However, not everyone is educated enough to use this technology.
2- It has anonymity issues
With the rising technology, people are now able to hide their identities. This anonymity has given rise to many social crimes.
You can see that in past few years, stalking, harassing, bullying, and threatening have been increased exponentially. A considerable increase in scams and frauds by fake ids on different social media platforms has been seen with the increasing revolution in technology.
3- We are totally depending on information technology
The worst impact of information technology is that it has made us totally dependent on it. The more you depend on it, the lesser you will learn and grow.
Students nowadays are addicted to social media. Especially when it comes to research and essays, students behave so lazy and simply perform a Google search and do copy-paste. Library rooms are now desolate, and students have abandoned the habit of book reading.
4- Information technology is reducing employment opportunities
Information technology has compelled us to work smarter rather than to work harder. As it has replaced human labor, employment opportunities have been reduced drastically.
You can take the example of weightlifting. There was a time when to lift heavy weights, a number of men were hired, while now a simple crane operated by a single person serves the purpose.
Although jobs are reducing for laborers, new jobs are introduced in the field of coding and programming. However, these jobs require special computer skills and qualifications.
5- Information is not secured
The most terrific impact of information technology on our lives is that we share our personal data on different websites, without knowing the authenticity of that website.
You will get hacked by different hackers if you keep on sharing your data unknowingly through the internet. This may result in the leakage of a company’s information. This leaked information is usually sold by hackers to the competitors, who use it to destroy the reputation of the company.
Things are not good or bad. It’s the way we use them, that makes them evil or virtuous. Information technology has a number of advantages and benefits. We cannot abandon its use in the present era.
However, we should keep in mind the pros and cons of information technology and should avoid its negative use. Anything used in a positive way will always be beneficial for you, your business, and society.
