The ubiquitous electronic connection is a frequently discussed issue in the contemporary world. It goes without saying that rapid technological development increases productivity in modern society as well as the speed of life. At the same time, the ubiquitous electronic connection creates a number of negative impacts on the people, workplaces, and relationships.
Ethical issues arising with the advent of the age of ubiquitous electronic connection
One of the biggest issues brought out by the ubiquitous electronic connection is the problem of privacy. In the contemporary world, the majority of individuals own mobile devices that connect with the Internet and have the capacity to spread private information about their users and make it accessible to everyone. For example, a mobile application called Viber tends to synchronize with people’s Google Plus accounts, which possess the information about people’s locations, so speaking to someone on Viber one may involuntarily inform other users about their location. Being tracked constantly by other people is a rather unpleasant experience that occurred along with the development of ubiquitous computing.
Issues arising with a turned on and tuned in the workforce
Constant connectivity at the workplace has occurred around 2004-2006. Initially, it was extremely helpful because it provided an additional way of communication for the professionals. Emails and messengers started to be widely used by business organizations and offices. As social networks appeared constant connectivity of the contemporary society turned into a big problem. A large number of workplaces suffered the reduction of productivity due to the constant distraction of the employees at the offices. People’s dependence on social networks, news portals, and online communication slowed down their working process. The managers addressed this issue, introducing policies designed to limit the use of social networks at the workplace. Besides, heavy use of the internet created more stress for society members. Today, most of us cannot last a day without checking emails or logging on to various social networks.
Articles dealing with ethics and social media
The first article is “The Ethical Challenges of Social Media,” it explores the challenges presented by social media in such aspects as integrity and recruitment at the workplace. The employees’ use of social networks on behalf of a company can undermine the reputation of the organization and hurt corporate ethics. As for recruitment practices, many organizations are known for monitoring the candidates online, which leads to an invasion of people’s personal lives (The Ethical Challenges of Social Media, 2011).
The second article is “Privacy in Ubiquitous Computing” by Langheinrich. This paper views privacy and security as equal issues. In other words, endangering people’s privacy, the producers of applications and devices also put their customers in danger, as their security weakens when their personal information and content becomes accessible to strangers (Langhenrich, 2009).
The last article is “Location privacy in ubiquitous computing” by Beresford. The author notes that location awareness in digital devices has become popular only recently as this information is highly useful for pervasive computing due to its capacity to provide heavier automation (Beresford, 2005). This way, human interaction with computers is made deeper and more aggressive.
In conclusion, the ubiquitous electronic connection is both the blessing and the curse of the contemporary world. The advanced technologies have made our lives so much easier than it becomes hard to live without them, which gives the technologies a chance to benefit from the heavy use of mobile devices by modern people.
Reference List
Beresford, A. R. (2005). Location privacy in ubiquitous computing. Technical Report, 612, 8-127.
Langhenrich, M. (2009). Privacy in Ubiquitous Computing. Web.
The Ethical Challenges of Social Media. (2011). Business Ethics Briefing, 22, 1-4.