Digital culture dynamics

Social transformation in 2017 has been affected by the dynamics of digital culture. In the modern world, technological advancement is pervasive and has changed society. Technology innovation has changed how individuals interact at work and even at home, even when they are unaware of it. The way we utilize computers, mobile devices, and the internet has completely changed society. Technology advancement has a direct impact on sociological perspectives including cultural lag, digital divide, and equilibrium model.
In comparison to previous years, the number of computers used in 2017 has dramatically increased. The proliferation of computers has altered people's lives and the way they go about their daily business. Although expensive and highly complicated, computer technology makes labor more accessible. Computers have become the dominant tools of communication. Distant friends and families can now keep in touch through computers (Mastrangelo, Everton, & Jolton, 2006). The field of research relies significantly on use of computers to process large data. Many companies today transact their business online. Students do their homework online and also for entertainment. Computers have become a tool that is used to execute our daily work. Computers can even lower productivity as some people may misuse them. Some people may focus on entertainment and forget about work. The entertainment will result to procrastination and piling of work (Liede& sBarbara, 2015).

The smartphones and personal computers have unanimously impacted the current sociological vices that are affecting the contemporary society. The Internet is very appealing to users because they can get everything they wish to access. Users spend most of their time surfing business, web, Facebook, etc. The access to these resources at our fingerprint suppress reality, and people embrace virtual reality instead.

The adolescents are the most effect by the virtual reality. At the adolescence stage, that is where people learn communication skills and how to interact with people. However, their communication skills are deterred from going since most of them are on their phones surfing. This makes them have a difficult time in school. They are not able to participate actively in classes like literature that require one to ask and answers questions. Even though computers and smartphones have autocorrect teens get so used to ignoring it that they make the same errors with their academics. Computers and smartphone allow people to communicate without having to see the person. These tools enable you to sit at a keyboard and communicate with anybody how one wants. The actual meaning and the tone that a message may want to be delivered with is missed. Some people have adopted computers and smartphones to be part of their hobby. They consider this as a great way to pass the time. The overdependence on this devices causes panic when they go down or they did work.

The desired culture of adolescence has suffered greatly from technological advancement. They have been exposed to violence through playing online games. The games played online are violent, and children are exposed to the explicit content. The violent situations in those games desensitize children and make them prone to inflicting pain on others and themselves. The violence affects the young people since their ability to judge whether what happens in games is related is blurred (Moseley, 2012). The child who will not become violent through playing these games will be still affected by the scenes. Children have a high affinity to imitate the acts of aggression as seen in the online games. Children, in this case, will adopt violence as a means of solving their problems as depicted in the electronic media. Children who have aggressive characters and identify with violence are likely to have a pronounced character of aggression.

The acts of violence committed by children in real life can be attributed to desensitization by violent scenes. This year has registered the highest number of teenage suicide compared to all other years. Demand for violent content has risen prompting film makers to make more production to meet the market. Research conducted showed that young men who are exposed to films where women are victims of sexual assault showed less sympathy for rape victims in real life. The normal emotional reactions have shifted as young, and even older person is exposed to violence graphics.

The Internet has come to be known as behavioral addiction. Behavioral addictions refer to an activity that changes one's emotional state in any way. Internet addiction has its signs and symptoms like any other addiction. The symptoms are difficult to notice since they seem normal. Spending a lot of time online that people deprive themselves of sleep is a sign of addiction. The addition is further evidence when people neglect important things in life like family, friends, and work. Some individuals lose track of time since they rarely sleep (Moseley, 2012).

Addiction has now taken another turn that refers to it as a disorder. The disorder of problematic use of internet through various aspects like electronic mail. The study says that those who are vulnerable are those that bored, depressed, lonely and those who lack self-esteem. The research has shown that this kind of people has restrained experiences in life and physiological well-being.

Uncensored material accessed by teenagers and adults from the internet have negative implications in their social life. The Internet has become a profitable means of getting money through the distribution of sexual materials. This aspect has degraded the moral of the society. This has resulted in compulsive sexual behavior, sex crimes, and sex trafficking. Research conducted showed that children who are between seven and sixteen are reported to have viewed pornography. The material is accessed mostly when the teenagers are doing their home-work (Moseley, 2012). The free access of this materials to adolescence has a detrimental impact on them since they are not fully matured emotionally. The curiosity of teenagers to engage in relationships and sexuality through media makes them expose their personal information making the vulnerable.

Eating disorders as a result of spending time online lead to unhealthy leaving. The eating habits promote obesity since people longer participate in exercises. The risk of cancer, diabetes, and heart attack. These issues have not yet been addressed by the society entirely since they are new to most parents. Most parents did not have these challenges when they were growing up. Parents, therefore, need to be taught by specialists how to handle the current issue. The parents should be encouraged to educate their children about healthy sexuality and ethical behaviors. The children also need to be warned about meeting strangers who they have been conversing online.

Disruptions are caused at work due to internet usage. The use of internet on smartphones is a growing vice in the work place. The use of smartphones at work lower productivity and the service given to the customer. Employees take their calls and talk loudly during work time. This scare customers away as they get angry. Ringtones interrupt people at work when they are very loud. Some employees are addicted to playing games and listen to music using their smartphones. This has made business industry to suffer from low productivity. People dealing with sensitive jobs like machine operation put other workers at risk. When working in an audit firm, a simple mistake of a single digit makes the whole work shambolic.

The equilibrium model works to adjust part of the society that has changed to attain a state that is acceptable. When adjustments are not made, society's equilibrium will be vulnerable, and hitches may arise. This perspective aims at ensuring that people function as required despite the availability of the internet resources. The perspective also aims at taking care of the people who do not have access to this resources. It is also known that people who have Internet access may have many sociological advantages. Some businesses may only accept online applicants, resumes, and online payments. Internet users also can communicate with others from distant locations. This may cause an inequality because the have-nots will be excluded from the communication chain. They are also geographically restricted about available jobs, health care, and academic opportunities.

The conflict perspective views that change has crucial significance since it is needed to correct social inequalities. As a computer, smartphone, and Internet usage rise, some people feel that the Internet should be regulated due to cultural lag. The Cultural lag occurs when the system used to regulate cultural ideas does not cope with the rate at which social changes occur. The cultural lag theory and digital divide relate to the impact of Internet technology on society because they consider the social inequalities about Internet users and nonusers. The digital divide is an increasing gap between unfortunate members of society, including the poor, rural, and elderly part of the population who may not have accesses or the resources to the Internet or a computer (Crossman, 2015). However, the middle class and wealthy do have the materials to access these resources. There are more racial groups that are achieving ownership of computers and the Internet. There are still some members of society that are behind and do not have access to computers, smartphones, and the Internet, that are sidelined by those who have them.

Evolutionary theory believes that society is progressing as technology advances. The number of internet user's increase every day as people try to catch up with trending technology. The increase is happening at a rapid pace, and there is hope that cultures and societies will embrace the technology age to grow with the increase in technology. According to the evolutionary theory, people are going to discover the important internet and acquire the necessary resources needed.

Technology, especially computers, smart phones, and Internet technology have shaped society with both positive and negative aspects. The negative impact that technology has is; lower productivity while at work, creating a socially useless society, causing a digital divide, and inequality due to which cultural or social group have access to computers and which ones do not. On the positive side, one can use technology for research, homework, communication with family and friends, look for and apply for jobs, and many other things.

Reference



Crossman, A. (2015). Cultural Lag. Retrieved from http://sociology.about.com/od/C_Index/g/Cultural-Lag.htm



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Moseley, E. (2012). Social media and its effect on adolescent communication skills

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