Social Impacts of IT

Since the use of IT has come around, it has caused a dramatic effect on the society. It has also changed the way people spend their free time. A positive impact to society is being able to communicate online with social networking sites for example; Facebook, a powerful social network that allows people to communicate with people all over the world in different languages. There good and bad points such as a high risk of being cyber bullied, people faking age, gender, making fake accounts to pretend to be someone they are not just to meet up with a specific person. Social networking isn’t bad if you know how to use it the correct way.

People of today don’t meet up with their friends because they find it easier to talk to them on Facebook from the comfort of their own home. There is a huge lack of communication between people. 

Potential Threats of IT

The Potential Threats of IT can include things like: 

- Cyber bullying - Same as bullying but just on the internet. This when someone bullies another person via the internet.

- Virus Infections - This is when you visit a website or download something from the internet from an unverified publisher which could damage the computer. There are different types of viruses but the two main important ones are called "Trojan" (Trojan Horse) and "Worms". These eat through system files and cause your computer to malfunction. 

- Spam - This when you get multiple emails from different places that would probably contain the same thing. This is called spam. Your email provider can prevent this by placing them in a default folder labelled "Junk". Not all junk emails get placed in the junk folder so you have to be extra cautious when opening unknown emails. 

- Phishing - This means someone is impersonating another person trying to get hold of your personal information such as where you live, what your contact number is etc.. This can either happen by email or signing up for websites. This is an easy way of getting hacked if you don't know what you're doing on the internet. You can prevent this by setting security questions on your email provider. 

Data Protection Act - 1998

The Data Protection Act (DPA) means how your information is managed by different organisations, businesses or even the government. The people who are responsible for using the data have to follow the "data protection principles". They must make sure that the information is: 

- Used fairly and lawfully

- Used for limited, specifically stated purposes

- Used in a way that is adequate, relevant and not excessive

- Accurate

- Kept for no longer than in absolutely necessary

- Handle according to people's data protection rights

- Kept safe and secure

- Not transferred outside the UK without adequate protection

There is stronger legal protection for more sensitive information, such as:

- Ethnic background

- Political opinions

- Religious beliefs

- Health

- Sexual health

- Criminal records