FREE ESSAY ON HAS THE INFORMATION REVELOTION BENIFITED SOCIETY

HAS THE INFORMATION REVELOTION BENIFITED SOCIETY

The Revolution
There is a revolution taking place all over the world. There is no blood shed in this
revolution. It is the revolution of information. 
The information revolution has been taking place for decades, but only know do we fully
realize the impact it has had and will have. The benefits of this revolution have changed
how are society works, plays, and lives. These changes have brought many benefits to
society and are still bringing benefits. 
James Snider's argument that the information revolution will be the down fall of the
environment is fundamentally flawed. All of his justifications are could happens that are
not supported. He even states that all of the major environmentally clubs don't consider
the information revolution as a threat. If the tree hugger's don't consider the
information revolution a menace, why should we.
On the other hand, John Mayo offers a very realistic and viable argument for the
information revolution. Mayo offers many good examples of how the information revolution
has benefited society. He also offers many predictions for the future.
Both Snider and Mayo have many good arguments, some better then others, that I will
discuss and analyze. I will show how the information revolution as benefited society and
will continue to benefit society. I will also describe the arguments against the
information revolution, and state how the argument is flawed. 
The greatest benefit of the information revolution is that know for the first time in
history every person has the ability to obtain the latest information instantly. When
people are informed, they have power, because knowledge is power. With knowledge, people
can make much more informed decisions. They know and understand what's happening in the
world around them. Back in the eight-teen hundreds, many people did not know for months
who was elected President of the United States. Now a days everyone knows who is running
and who wins thanks to the information revolution. The information revolution has also
brought about the formation of the information superhighway. The information superhighway
is a seamless network of computers and databases were anyone, anytime, and anywhere can
access limitless information. The information superhighway gives people the power of
knowledge. It allows people to see things they might have never seen, if it were not for
the information superhighway. With the information superhighway people can take virtual
tours of museums, campuses, and buildings not even constructed yet. A person can also
walk through buildings that no longer exist. There are so many things that one can do
using the information superhighway, and I will describe many of them in the rest of the
paper.
The information revolution has also made are lives much easier. The lives of people all
over the world has been affected because of the information revolution. Years ago people
of the rich nations did not know of or did not understand the blight many people of poor
nations faced every day. Now that the whole world knows of the poverty many people face
the world's people are doing something to stop poverty. The information revolution has
also exposed many people to different cultures. This exposure has helped to end the
hatred between many different cultures. The information revolution has also made it
possible to do many things form the comfort of one's own home. One can now go to a web
site for a car company and play around with options to see what they want. One can do all
of there shopping online. People who once relied on someone else to bye stuff for them
can know do it for themselves. The information superhighway also makes life easier by
allowing families to communicate with each other form anywhere in the world. The
information superhighway also makes it possible to get a college degree, and one never
has to step foot on a college campus. Are lives are so much easier because of the
information revolution, and I am sure Snider would agree that even he has benefited from
this easier life.
The medical field has benefited greatly form the information revolution. Doctors must
agree that having the ability to go to a computer and have access of a database of every
know illness is a very powerful tool. Before this database doctors had to either do
intensive research or just know the signs of an illness to determine what you had.
Sometimes that was not even enough. If you had a rare topical illness chances are, they
would never figure out what you had. But now a days, all a doctor has to do if he has a
patient with illness he doesn't recognize is go to a computer, type in the aliments of
the patient, and the computer spits out the possibly illness the patient has. The
information revolution is also making more people aware of deadly illnesses and how to
prevent and diagnose them. The fight against breast cancer is one such campaign, that has
used the information revolution to get its message to the masses. The information
revolution also made it possible for doctors on opposite sides of the world to
collaborate on patients. The information revolution has made it possible for doctors to
have instant access to a patients records, a database of every know illness, and the
knowledge to more effectively diagnose and treat the sick. I do not know about the rest
of the world, but I am happy in knowing that my doctor can diagnose anything.
Education has been drastically changed because of the information revolution. The
education system has been changed, because now everyone knows the importance of an
education. With parents and children having the latest information about education the
education system has to adapt and become better. Using the information revolution, the
education system has access to latest textbooks, lab manuals, and procedures. A good
example of how the information revolution has effected education is one involving a
chronicle sick child. This child was always in and out of the hospital, but he never fell
behind in class. The reason for that is he was connected to the Internet. There was
cameras placed in the class room and he was basically involved in an interactive TV class
room. This example shows how a child at one time, would have falling behind in class and
would have probably had to repeat that grade, but because of the information revolution
he is on track and will not have the feeling of being left behind. The information
revolution has also allowed many physical and mental disabled children to attend public
schools instead of schools for the disabled.
As Mr. Snider stated in his article all of the major environmental groups like the Sierra
Club and the Wilderness Society feel that the information revolution has had huge
benefits for the environment. The information revolution has helped the environment in
many ways. It has made more people aware of how their actions effect the environment. It
has also giving people a reason to care about the environment, by showing them what there
actions might ruin. With the help of various mediums, like the information superhighway,
the environmental clubs have been able to get their message to the masses. Although one
of the biggest reasons why the environmental clubs like the information revolution, is
how it has effected air pollution. With more and more people being able to work and shop
at home, the gas that they would have burnt in their car's does not get burnt. So there
is no air pollution being created and that is a very good thing. 
The job of police officer is a very dangerous one at times, but thanks to the information
revolution that job has become much easier. The information revolution has giving police
officers the most powerful weapon to fight crime, information. With instant and up to
date information, a police officer can know what to accept when they pull someone over or
enter a house. Almost all police cars now have an onboard computer, which is linked to a
international database of know criminals. Even before a police officer pulls someone
over, the officer knows if the driver might be a danger or not. They know this because
they run your license plate number through the computer and see if the car might be
stolen. Then when they take your license, they run that through the computer and see if
you have any warrants out for your arrest. With instant information, police officers can
catch and arrest criminals much earlier. The information revolution has also brought
about a change in how neighbors interact. With more and more people being informed on
what to look for if you suspect your neighbor is being robbed, more and more people are
preventing crime before it happens. Also, people now know how to make their house's less
enticing to a would be criminal. The information revolution has also giving people the
knowledge of how to stop a person who is attacking you. If the information revolution has
helped to prevent just one person from being a victim of a violent crime, I feel it has
greatly helped society.
The information revolution has helped to bring the people of the world closer. The phrase
global village was coined because of the information revolution. The world is a global
village because of the information revolution. The information revolution has allowed
people from every corner of the world to talk to each other and share cultures. I myself
am taking advantage of this ability. I talk to and exchange e-mails with a person form
Germany. If it were not for the information superhighway, I would have never know this
person and I feel my life would be less if I did not know this person. I have been
introduced to many new cultures because of the information superhighway. I would not have
understood these cultures without the information superhighway. The information
revolution has also been used to create many successful marriages. These couples would
probably have never met, if it were not for the information revolution. 
With all of the benefits the information revolution has brought, there is still a few
problems it also brought along. One such problem is how complicated our lives have
become. With all of the technology we have, you almost need to be a rocket scientist to
operate it let alone fix it. Many people get frustrated over not being able to make
something work. Most older people in society talk about the good old days, but if you
were to ask them to give up their air condition, microwaves, and cars in order to have
the good old days back most would say I do not like the good old days that much. So our
lives are a little more complicated, we have to use are brain more, but it is all worth
it. I do not believe someone would give up their current life for one in the good old
days. 
Another major issue against the information revolution, is the health problems it causes.
It is true, that the increases in some illness is related to the information revolution.
The rise in obesity among adults and especially children is of major concern. With easy
access to information, many people don't get the excise they need. When someone can order
everything needed over the Internet, there is no need for that person to go outside and
get some excise. With obesity on the rise, it also causes illnesses related to weight to
increase like heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes. Even though the
information revolution has helped to increase certain illnesses, we can not forget all of
the illnesses it has helped to stop. The information revolution has made many people
aware of many deadly illnesses. Obesity is not a deadly illness. There is no such thing
as dying form obesity. The benefits of the information revolution on the medical field
far out weigh the problems it has caused.
Snider paints a pretty grim picture of the environment if we allow the information
revolution to continue. He describes a world where the human population is spread evenly
through out the world. He talks about how if the human population were to spread itself
out there would be a global destruction of the environment. The only problem with this
picture is that it is built on could happens and might happens. For this picture to
become real, people would have to leave the large urban areas. This is not likely to
happen because many people stay were they grew up. If you grew up with the hustle and
bustle of a big city all around you, the idea of living in a small town sounds boring.
Static's show that a little over 90 percent of people live within a 50 mile radius of
where they grew up. No one wants to leave family and friends, so many people stay were
they grew up, weather it be a small town or the big city.
The information revolution has also brought a new wave of crime, electronic crime. The
databases we hold so dear are one of the main reasons for this new kind of crime. When
you have people's whole lives on a computer, it is a very tempting target. This new crime
is hard to stop and even harder to catch the people who are doing it. Even though it is
hard to stop and hard to catch the people, we still do catch them. Every day new programs
are coming out to stop these criminals from gaining access to people's sensitive
information. For every new program a hacker creates to break into someone's database,
there is a program created to stop it.
The information revolution is a revolution that does not understand what being social is.
Many people spend hours on the computer every day. These people have no social life, but
the virtual social life they have created on the Internet. Many colleges have banned or
restricted students, who are on the Internet to much, from using the Internet. Colleges
like the University of Maryland has such a rule in place. The University of Michigan and
Michigan State University are two colleges considering implementing such rules. What kind
of message are these colleges sending to there students. They are saying you can't
control yourself and you are an addict. We are going to save you from yourself because we
know what is best for you. Last I checked, most every one who attends college is an
adult, and in America adults have the right to make their own choices. If a person wants
to spend 12 hours a day on the Internet, so be it. As long as their grades are not
suffering because of it, what business is it of the schools. They are all adults. Let
them make their own decisions.
Information, what a powerful tool. It can cause plants to shift or an atom to split. The
information revolution has created so many benefits for society that far out weigh the
problems it creates. The information revolution is going to occur no matter what anyone
says. You can either embrace the revolution or be run over by it. I prefer to embrace it,
because it has giving me so much and will continue to influence my life for the better. 
Bibliography
Bibliography 
Fernandez, Susan and McKee, Kate. Students Hooked On The Net.
Diamond, Edwin and Bates, Stephen. The Ancient History of the Internet.
Canby, Thomas. Reshaping Our Lives.
Altschiller, Donald. The Information Revolution.
Ermann, David. Computers, Ethics, and Society.