CHAPTER 14 Computers in Society: Tomorrow
The Future of Online Shopping There has been much debate about when and if people will accept and take advantage of online shopping opportunities. Certainly college students have discovered online shopping--slightly more than half of all students spend an average of $330 each year purchasing products over the Internet. The percentage and the dollar amount are high relative to the population as a whole. When you extrapolate what the same people will be doing once they graduate and begin enjoying a higher standard of living it is easy to speculate that online shopping will take off when the next generation enters the workforce. These results are from a survey by the National Association of College Stores (NACS).
Our Global, Free Internet in Jeopardy? The Internet has created a smaller, borderless world where the free flow of information circles the globe at lightspeed. But how long will it be before information must pass through checkpoints at electronic borders? Already France has banned the Nazi insignia. A French judge has upheld the ruling. It is possible that other countries will opt to filter what information is permitted into their borders. It is also possible that states, counties, and cities could do the same. These conflicts with country, state, and local laws are occurring all over the world. In some countries there are laws that prohibit certain Internet content or the way it is presented, yet, it continues to stream into their country. For example, German laws prohibit the advertising of items side-by-side, a common occurrence on the Web. Many countries have laws that prohibit the distribution of pornographic content. Many people are concerned that if governments, at any level, encourage Internet filtering for their citizens, then the free flow of information will be severely hampered.
Communicating with Our Representatives in Washington D.C. Has e-mail helped or hindered our ability to communicate with our senators and congresspersons? In the past, those without special access to these people wrote letters or called their offices to express concerns about a particular issue. Staffers could deal with the pre-Internet letter/phone call volume. However, with an average congressperson receiving several thousand messages each day, their staffs are simply to small to read and respond to each message. Many people had thought that e-mail would enable greater, more rapid access to lawmakers, but this has not been the case as lawmakers are not able to fathom the volume of e-mail they receive. Most of the e-mail is generated by advocacy groups, corporations, and other organizations lobbying for their point of view. Of course, those who do send e-mail are frustrated that they do not receive a response or, if they do, the response may be electronically generated. Lawmakers are considering increasing their staffs to handle the increasing volume of e-mail. However, if they staff up to handle 4000 e-mails/letters/calls per day, will it be necessary to double the staff next year and the year after?