2. UNIT TWO: USES AND FUNCTIONS OF COMPUTERS

2.10. DEMERITS OF USING COMPUTERS IN SOCIETY

  • For those who spend many hours in front of the computer, there is a risk of addiction. Many people don't care about anything except computers.
  • Eye strain: Using a computer for many hours during a day can be very harmful to the eyes.
  • Our creativity, skills, and reasoning can decrease when we are too dependent on the computer. For instance, with email replacing the hand-written letter, onscreen art designing instead of hand drawing art, etc.
  • The computer can destroy the culture of a certain group of people in society, especially youths.
  • In spite of continuously reducing prices, computers are still costly because the initial cost and maintenance costs of a computer are very expensive. 
  • The use of computers requires additional efforts in form of learning to use computers and their programs.
  •  There is dehumanizing of people. Excessive use of computer for communication with others threatens to reduce the intensity of personal bond that often develops between people. For instance, by making telephone calls.
  • Computers have led to unemployment of people such as Tellers, shop workers, and postal workers; since many manual/repetitive jobs have been replaced by computers like ATMs
  • Electronic fraud: Stealing money electronically through practices like Credit card cloning
  • Impact on Environment: Computer manufacturing processes and computer waste are depleting natural resources and polluting the environment
  • Hacking: Unauthorized access to computers possibly to access information, compromising privacy. e.g. Wikileaks
  •  Software Piracy: Stealing software, not paying for licenses through cracking.
  •  Presence of Viruses: You may lose all your programs, files, documents folders, and other data on your computer because of a virus infection on the computer.  
  •  Moral Decay: The internet has websites with content such as pornography, which have a bad impact on users, especially young children.
  • Computers are delicate and they must be given great care.