There is a current revolution in information technology that is having an increasingly visible effect on the average American. These effects have been both positive and negative, but they have not yet been measured in a concrete sociological or psychological format. While information technology has done wonderful things for society, such as providing an increase in opportunity at home, there are certainly a few downsides. The effects of information technology are shaping social lives and behaviors in ways that we never predicted they would.
Developments in information technology have spurned many questions into the future of our society. These developments affect not only how people work, but where they work, how much they work, or with whom they interact face-to-face or electronically. Will future workers continue to share physical proximity with their colleagues, or work largely alone wedded to digital devices with occasional electronic mail or voice communication? What will these changes mean for social trust and social life beyond the family? Will the growing trend of working at home with the aid of IT help strengthen the family or add to the intrusion of the workplace into the home? Will it reduce the hours people work, or increase them by infusing work into every sphere of life, devouring leisure time and family life? And how will the Internet affect the role and use of the traditional media?
Using data from a national random sample of American adults, it is found that the more time people spend using the Internet, the more they lose contact with their social environment. This effect is noticeable even with just 2-5 Internet hours per week, and it rises substantially for those spending more than 10 hours per week. What does this mean for people who take advantage of opportunity at home by supplementing their income with an at home job? It is difficult to say exactly. The crucial point is that a person who uses the internet for job related purposes must significantly cut back on the time that they use the internet for leisure activities.
While information technology has greatly increased our supply of opportunity at home, those who engage in opportunity at home must be aware that they are immersed in a lifestyle and culture that our minds and bodies have not had a whole lot of time to fully adapt to. It is crucial that people who have incorporated a lot of technology into their lifestyles pay mind to their social and physical needs. Humans are social animals, and we require a lot of face to face interaction in order to function in a healthy and happy way. We also require a lot of exercise. In an increasingly noisy world, it is important to always be aware of how the technology that we use is altering the way that we behave.
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