The article posted in the Wall Street Journal "Is This Man Cheating on His Wife?" (Read the article: http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB118670164592393622), Sparked a question as to if the lines eventually gets blurred between the real and virtual world. I definitely would consider any relationship whether it is in person or online with someone other than your committed partner cheating. Once the virtual world takes precedent over the real world I would definitely consider its impact on today’s society. This type of behaviour fosters the lack of social interaction which can eventually have long-term social consequences, such as a teenager who is addicted to gaming will develop social awkwardness as a result of the isolation, will have difficulty making friends or even in some instances social interaction becomes very difficult for these individuals.

Changes in technology has impacted not only the way we do business but also the way we interact with each other, as a result of these changes, our society and culture as we knew it ten or fifteen years ago has changed significantly, from the time when we either used the telephone or met in person to discuss a matter with another individual to sending an instant message, or email, the face to face interaction is no longer there. Computer crimes is also another social impact of information systems within our society, it makes it easier for fraudulent activities such as the distribution of computer viruses or cyber-attacks intended to destroy or corrupt data/services. The Internet is also used as a tool to remotely cause harm to an individual in the form of cyber-stalking, cyber bullying, etc. There needs to be a balance between interaction that occurs in the virtual world and that of the real world in order for society to move forward.

Reference

Alter, A. (2007, August 10). Is this man cheating on his wife? The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118670164592393622.html

Reflection

The growth of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) has raised ethical and social issues for individuals and organizations; such as the invasion of privacy, the loss of intellectual property, among others. The advent use of social media has altered the way we as a civilization interact with each other, before the advancement of technology we had more time to interact with each other on a more personal level. I find that even when you are out with friends or colleagues, smart phone devices are still in play. I sometime like to conduct social experiments where I would go to a restaurant or sit in a public space and see how much social interaction occurs where it does not involve a smart device of some sort and to my astonishment the percentage is very low. I am becoming more and more cautious of my interactions on social media and not post every aspect of my life, so for the few time I meet up with friends and family and they ask what’s new, I actually has something to tell them that they are already not aware of.