In the video, Hanne Cecilie discusses how a mobile phone can be understood as a technical device, a social device, as well as a phenomenon that can tell us something about the values in a society. How can a mobile phone be understood through the lense of your field of study and what do you think are the social implications of it?
Everyday, we are using our mobile phone for various reasons: to look for information, to communicate with friends or colleagues, etc. Then, this technical device has a big impact on our everyday life. Even when we are studying or working, we need it: with the increase of remote working, we use it all day.
In addition, in our field of study, computer science, we also can have an impact on mobile phones. This is the distinctive characteristic of it because we have the power, for instance, to create new applications or to modify the operation of the mobile phone in general, with coding.
Thereby, people and mobile phones have a mutual impact on each other. But this is not without consequences on the social aspect.
Indeed, nowadays, as everybody is carrying a phone in his pocket, it’s not surprising to see dependance increase. Online meetings are a perfect example: it appears difficult to stay focused on without taking a look at his phone. Starting to scroll is a real trap ! You planned to just consult your emails, however, one hour later you’re still on your phone, losing on social media.
Nevertheless, there are also a lot of positive sides of using phones : for instance, it facilitates communications all around the world. Besides, this device represents a huge amount of data, in other words, it’s an easy way to access information.
Then, using our mobile phones in computer science has a big impact on our society, but we don’t have to forget that everybody can’t have access to this device. Indeed, in developing countries as in developed ones, some people are excluded because of their lack of funds, which prevents them from having a mobile phone. Thus, this use creates a lot of disparities in the world.
The Internet has grown into a ubiquitous infrastructure that societies all over the world are increasingly reliant on. To which extent and how does the internet have political consequences? Note down some examples and discuss with your colleagues.
The consequences that the internet has on society can be both positive and negative. It shows that countries that have better access to the internet can have a better economy, health care, a better democratic system and sustainability.
The power of internet can provide the economy a better function by giving both the consumer and the customer fast and reliable connections. It provides convenience in the business world.
The internet has also played a big role in our healthcare system. A good healthcare system should have good access to the internet. Countries that have better access also shown to have a better healthcare system. North Korea is not a country with democratic system, people only have access via the Internet to data authorized by the dictatorship, and their health system shows it. For example, the population is not vaccinated against Covid 19, which represents a real danger for their country.
For democracy or a democratic system to function well, it is important for societies around the world to have access to the internet. The Ukraine war is a good example. Ukraine has a democratic system and they fight for their freedom and Russia is a corruptive system where people are prevented from demonstrating against their government, because of the information available on the Internet.
Sustainability has come a long way in the internet era. It is important that we use all our resources to protect our environment, rights, … before it is too late. We believe that the power of the internet can influence those changes.There are more movements for gender rights and climate on social media in countries with good access to the Internet because of that, the population is more aware of this society's subjects.