Life in the inrformation age

Our living style became and is becoming much more better and easier. We can now order almost anything sitting in home, watch anything and at anytime from our beds, and find out exactly what our friends are doing all day everyday instantaneously. In this time, the world is in our hand. We can do almost anything. Advancement of the technology makes all our work easy and simple. Introduction and continuous advancing of technology in this age changes everything in every sector like- education, communication, banking, shopping, legislation, civil rights, etc. Our life, in this technically advanced information age, is known as the “Life in the Information Age”.

STUDENT

The impact of ICT on the following aspect of life are discussed from the point of view of a typical student:

Education:

Before:

Student’s used to search through books from their Institution’s Huge library, which was time consuming. Read and study lots of books to extract information to prepare their reports or assignments, still he/she had limited resources when it came to preparing reports and assignments. this was a huge pressure for them. They had to collect notes from their teachers and it was very difficult when they miss an important class. In case of getting admission in a new university or Institutes, he had to go there physically and then collects catalogues. After going in various universities and collecting catalogue, he/she then compare the catalogue for him/her future University or institutes. This process takes away lots of time from that student. When institution is closed, he used to go into local library and searched for the relevant books for his study. His work was rather inflexible. Also, those students who has family responsibility ( It could be his father died and he had to lead the family ) can’t go through Universities for Higher studies.

Now:

Now, students have computer in their home with Internet connection. For his reporting or assignment, he/she now collects information from Internet, then he/she edit and prepare it at his home computer. Even, he/she don’t need to go University/school/college physically for his report or assignment submission, he/she simply can E-mail it to his/her Teacher’s Email address. Some students also have Laptop, it is easy to carry anywhere, which means he can browse through internet for collecting information and send it through E-mail no matter where he/she is. He/she doesn’t need to go to universities physically for getting admission information, now he/she simply goes through the universities website and gather information and chooses one from them. Also, he/she can get admit through online. Extracting information of a particular “subject” is now very easy, just type in the “subject” in the search box, a lot of websites lists would appear which contains information about that “subject”. For learning new things he/she just browses the internet and goes to relevant sites to gather knowledge. Now he also has a lot of multimedia to help him learn, this include tutorials, videos, sound files etc. He/she now can chat or have video conference with students and teachers online. Can browse through other educational sites, forums and blogs to widen his views about a topic or learn something new. Internet do have many online virtual library, which means he/she doesn’t need to go to library, can read his desired book sitting in his/her personal room. The respective teachers upload the contents and the key points of the daily lectures to the institution’s site. The style of conducting the classes has also changed through digital presentations aided with videos, sound and animation. Through E-learning, a student can get a degree from his home, doesn’t need to go to University!

Impact:

• Preparing reports or assignment was very difficult and time consuming. Now, this can easily be done, from anywhere and at anytime through Internet.
• Report or assignment can be submitted instantly at anytime and from anywhere, doesn’t need to go University physically. This saves him/her money and time that would otherwise spend on travel back and forth to University.
• The Internet made sure that he did not have to go through a lot of useless information and can find the most correct and precise information on his desired topics.
• Internet saves a lot time for gathering information.
• Chats, videoconferencing add a new dimension to the students in their earning knowledge.
• Multimedia presentation with aided video, sound and animation makes learning a enjoyable thing.
• Internet can also be distracting, that means he can end up browsing entertainment sites and other irrelevant sites, when he was supposed to research for an educational topic.

Employment Opportunities:

Before:

First he/she had to prepare his/her resume and qualification papers, search for jobs in newspaper, then physically goes to the office to show his/her resume and qualification papers for the job and finally wait for the interview date from the office through Letter. Or he/she used to roam around from one office to another for the vacancy.

Now:

Now, using Internet, he/she can search through various jobs with full view information of job requirements, by which he/she can compare whether he/she qualified for that job or not. Also, he/she can search any particular job which he/she wants. Now, he can also be searching for on-campus jobs in his institution, which are more convenient and relevant to his study. He/she doesn’t need to go through offices to submit his/her resume and qualification paper, he/she can send it through E-mail. If the office likes his/her qualification then they would send the date through e-mail to his/her E-mail address.

Impact:

• He/she can apply for jobs from his home, which saves his transport cost and time.
• He/she is more informed about the current job opportunities.
• He/she can choose the best suited job for him, which satisfies his maximum demands.
• He can get instant replies of his/her queries.
• Send his/her resume instantly through e-mail.
• He/she gets the interview date through mail from the company.

Shopping And Banking:

Before:

School, college, varsity Bookshop or local bookstore or stationeries was the main place for buying books. Even, when some books are not available there they had to search for the books away from the city or far to get them.. Cash must be given before getting the book, so they had to carry their money with them which is very risky of getting lost, theft or robbed. He used to pay his institution by the checks he received from his parents’. Giving gift to friends or teachers was very difficult because of high delivery charge by the companies. In case urgent money for the student, their parents can’t send it, or it takes much time.

After: Now, he/she search for books in various e-commerce website or online library. To buy, he/she simply have to add the item in the virtual basket, pay money by credit card and click on the order button. He/she would get the book at his hoe in a short time depending of the place of order or order terms and condition. A student can order book from anywhere in the world. And in the Internet, because of the competitive market, price of the item is reasonably low. He now also has the ability to send items or gifts to his family and friends who lives far way. Now his parents can transfer any money he/she needs to his/her account so that he/she can pay the institution and cover various expenses.

Impact:

• He/she can buy books simply sitting in his home. So, buying books is more relaxed today.
• It saves time and Impact:money.
• He/she can buy from anywhere in the world.
• Sending gifts to parents or friends who lives far away is very easy.
• Can pay institution by credit card.
• The online prices of these products are also very reasonable and thus this makes him spent less amount of money.
• Buying goods from the internet can sometimes be unreliable and can have hidden costs.

Communication:

Before: Mailing letter or calling to his/her family through the nearest telephone booth was the main source of communications by the students. It was very costly and time consuming. . Sometimes students had to wait in a long line for his turn to call. Communication with friends and teachers in case of emergency were very difficult too. They had to go physically to meet them or make phone call from the nearest booth. Sometimes he/she used to post his reports or assignment to his respective teachers, and letters to his family or friends. This form of communication wasn’t safe and convenience; do had a high rate of letter lost possibility.

After: Now, students have cell phone of their own. Using this they can call to anyone and at anytime. So communication with family, friends, teachers is very easy now. In case of emergency, he/she can call whenever he wants. Using Internet, students can email his queries or reports or assignment to his respective teachers, which turn out to be more fruitful as the teacher can send him detailed feedbacks on his queries including other internet links to help him sort out the problems even better or can comment on his/her report or assignment. Through this cell phone or Internet, a student can communicate with someone whom he never meet face-to-face, can share their feelings and ideas.

Impact:

• It is much more cheaper than it was before.
• Communication can be done at any time and from anywhere.
• Communication is easier and Convenient
• It saved a lot of time.
• Despite all the advantages, he sometimes finds his monthly cell phone bills to be much higher then expected.
• The freedom to communicate with anyone sometimes enables himself to be less efficient at his studies.
• Widespread use of cell phones and chat rooms also mean unwanted messages or calls can be easily received.

Entertainment and Leisure:

Before: Reading books, watching television, or playing in the field was their leisure activities. He also used to listen to music using his CD player. Passing time with friends was also an leisure activities.

After: Now, students have personal computer or laptop. Listening Music, watching television and movies via satellite is possible to enjoy using this. Using Internet, can also download latest music and videos . He/she then uploads these to his mp3 player so that he can enjoy them anytime. Now, he/she also plays games and chats with his friends to pass his/her leisure time. Impact:

• To entertain himself he doesn’t need to go outside home.
• Now his entertainment and leisure activities can also be educational, as he can download educational contents which can be presented in a much colorful form. This may encourage learning as a leisure activity itself.
• As laptop is portable, he can use its entertainment facilities from anywhere.
• Download music and videos sitting in his/her room.
• Easy accessibility of entertainment can make students lazy and can eat away their valuable time.

Engineer

The impact of ICT on the following aspect of life are discussed from the point of view of a typical engineer:

Communication:

Before:

The person used to communicate with his boss or other engineers in the same company concerning various projects using LAN line phone. He/she wasn’t able to communicate with his/her family or friends using office phone because of the company restrictions. His/her clients used to communicate with him/her in his/her land phone in home of office, this communication was fruitful he/she was in his/her home or office. He/she had to keep his/her customer up-to-date about the project by communicating in their land phone, and if land phone wasn’t there then by letters.

Now:

Now, they uses cell phone, can communicate with boss, client, colleagues, family and friends from anywhere and at anytime. As his/her cell phone now has a camera he can also send pictures of the drawings he is working on. He/she can also sent emails from his computer to the clients explaining the full detail of his projects. Can chat with clients discussing about the project. Impact:

• Communication has now become faster and more efficient.
• Can communicate from anywhere and at anytime.
• Can e-mail client with full description of the project.
• Multimedia function of cell phone provides opportunity to send his/her drawings of the project.
• Client would find Him/her all the time.
• Engineer could keep the client always up-to-date about the progress of the project.

Working Style:

Before

He/she used to draw design on papers by hand, it was very difficult as all the client wants accurate design. For change, he/she need to design again. Calculations were done using calculators by the engineer and then had to write on to the designed paper, this had the high possibility of making mistake. All his designs of the project had to store on a file, and the files were stored on filing cabinets. If one is lost, he/had to design it again! He/she had to photocopy the design for the client, sometimes photocopies were unclear. In presenting the design of any companies, he/she had to give a oral presentation only, which sometimes company feels difficult to understand and as a result makes many irrelevant question. After Now the engineer uses computer aided design, here design is easy and accurate. Also the calculation is accurate as it done automatically by the software. Files are stored on computer hard disk, which could be protected, that means no chance of getting lost or used or corrupted by other person. He/she provides his/her client with printed design, which means the design is clear and can be understood easily. If changes are needed, it is very easy to made. While presenting a design of a company’s project, he uses “multimedia presentation” , MS Power Point is used and the presentation shown on a projector screen using a projector connected to his/her laptop. If the listeners require a sample of the plans they are given CDs which contain full details of the plans.

Impact

· Working on AutoCAD is very easy and flexible.

· Doesn’t need to work hard to design a plan.

· Many previously done samples are there, he/she can take help of those.

· Changes in design according to the clients desire can be done easily.

· Computer aided design saves valuable time because the lengthy drawings of plans are no longer needed.

· Storing file is easy, it can be protected, and a lot of file can be stored depending on the hard disk space.

· Virus infection in computer can corrupt the file.

· File can be lost In case of hard disk crash or damage.

· The presentations now are also better than previous presentations, the listeners are given a clear idea about the plan and the engineer finds it easier to speak using the projector as he has prepared the slides accordingly.

Decision Making:

Before:

When he/she face any problem in his/her project, he had to consult with other engineer by meeting him/her physically or by communicating with him/her in land phone at his/her home or office which was very difficult as he/she could be away from home or office. He also used to go through numerous books from the nearest library concerning that topic, and tried to find the solution from them.

Now:

Now, for the solution, he/she can consult with other engineer at any time and from anywhere using cell phone. Can arrange online discussion board, or videoconference for solving the problem. Or can search through various websites or e-books on this subject to find the solution.

Impact:

· He/she can consult at any tome and from anywhere.

· Can through the Internet for finding the solution, doesn’t need to read numerous from the library.

· Contacting with Engineers or colleagues for the problem is easier and convenient.

· Contacting and searching method or way save his/her valuable time and money.

· Also as he/she now talks with people all around the world by discussion board or videoconferencing he/she acquire a wider range of knowledge about his project and this gives him multiple dimensions about a particular topic.

· Internet can be irritating when it comes to searching for information because one has to go through hundreds of pages due to the fuzzy searching procedures on the net.

· For the new user of the net, it is both frustrating and ineffective when specific information is needed quickly, because has go through any websites.

Banking and Shopping

Before:

His/her salary paid by the client (customer) or by the company in cash, which was very risky to carry to his/her home. Sometimes, they were paid by cheque, and he/she had to withdraw it from the bank, it cost time and money. He/she used the bank for keeping store of his/her money, for this he/she had to have a account, and those banks were not easily available in all areas. So, the aviability of withdrawing money from any place wasn’t there. His/her shopping was done from nearest shop or mall by going there physically and he/she had to pay in cash. Though some shop or shopping mall used to provide facility of payment by cheque, but they were limited in number.

Now:

Still most of the client or company pays Him/her by cash or cheque, but due to installment of technology it is very easy and flexible to withdraw money and banks are now available in almost all areas. Now, another form of payment is included, his/her salary is transferred to his bank account electronically and he/she can withdraw the money using credit or debit card. Many banks are also International or have connection with others banks around the world, using this their customer can withdraw money from those banks too. He no longer doesn’t need to go shops for shopping, can shop sitting in his/her home using internet and can pay all his payments via aid of credit card.

Impact:

· Withdrawing money is easy, convenient and flexible.

· Banks are now more readily available and provide 24hours service.

· Money ca be transferred directly from the company or clients account to his/her account.

· Doesn’t need to go out for shopping.

· Shopping from home saves time and money.

· Shopping money can be given via credit cards.

· Shopping through credit or debit card sometimes tempts him to shop for unnecessary, which is a waste of money.

· There are also few fraud e-commerce website, buying from those means wasting money.

Education

Before

It was very difficult or quite impossible for a Engineer to go for further education as well continuing his/her job. Though some institutes used to provide special service to the jobholders but that weren’t flexible and was inconvenient. Also, he/she had to be in the intuition physically for attending the class, sometimes it was difficult when he/she get busy with some project. Also, it wasn’t easy to concentrate on his/her study.

Now

It is possible and easy to go for further education and develop him/her personally by the help of online training courses and educational websites. There Internet is an endless resource, it contains any piece of information he/she may ever want to know. There are also sites that offer online course where he/she get admitted, study according to the information and guideline provided, then sit an exam and he/she will get a qualification. So, a engineer doesn’t need to go institution physically for further study, he/she can study at his/her leisure time in home or in office.

Impact

· Doesn’t need to go in institution physically.

· Can study or log into class at leisure time.

· Saves a lot of his/her time.

· Learning method is easy and attractive.

· Flexible and convenience.

· To get this facility, engineer need any sophisticated equipments and have to have the ability to use computer very well.

Life in the information age

Businessman

Working Style

Before

Order of product was used to be given via letter or mail and used to get order from customers in the same way. Few suppliers and customers used land phone and orders were sometime given using those. His/her office was run in manual system. He had to move through his/her employer’s desk to monitor their task. He/she didn’t have much communication with international businessman. They had to provide training to the new employers, it cost too much money and time and still not very effective.

Now

Giving and receiving order is now very easy and fast and it could be given at anytime during office hour. Most businessman uses special software which monitors the stock and automatically order it to the suppliers when the stock reaches a certain preprogrammed limit. He/she now runs the company or office in computer based system. All the files are stored on computer, works of the employers are monitored by CC Camera and also some programs are there that track whether employees are in the office or out on a call. He/she now has communication with many business bodies outside the country. He/she get business updates whenever he/she wants through Internet. Videoconferencing provides the opportunity to can company meeting even if he/she is out of the office. Trainings are given using technology and they are effective and fruitful and also the course can be finished in very short time.

Impact

• Order is fast, easy and reliable.
• Gets updates of business information through Internet.
• Planning for future target can be made very easily.
• Can monitor employees by sitting in his/her office room.
• Using videoconferencing, he/she can arrange a company meeting even when he/she is outside the office

Communication

Before

Mailing letter was the main source of communication with Employees, friends, family or other business person. Some uses land phone and was unlikely to get him/her at any time. Same method was used to order for products to the supplier, or getting order from customer. This traditional mail systems may take a day for the recipient to receive it and a day for them to send a reply and fro hi/her to receive it.

Now

He/she now uses cell phone, can be used to communicate with companies, suppliers, customers, friends and family at anytime and from anywhere. Businessman uses online communication (e-mail, IM etc.) services which is quick and allows fast replies and it is guaranteed to get there.

Impact

• Traditional Mailing system takes in total of 2 days or more to send and receipt replies. But e-mail take seconds to receive , and few minutes to read it and write a reply, so in total that may have taken a maximum of about 30 minutes, instead of a few days.
• Communication is fast and easy.
• Communication can be done at anytime from anywhere around the world.
• E-mail is more reliable, convenient and cheaper then sending postal mail.
• One problem is that, Mail is not read if the recipients doesn’t log on to the Internet.

Decision Making

Before

Sales figure are there on files. He/she had to go through all the files, check sales statistics, check order letters, and then make order to the supplier according to that. If he faced any business problem, he/she can’t instantly contact with other businessman or employees in off period to sort out the problem. In some business problem, which he/she doesn’t faced before, don’t know how to react or what to do, result of which is wrong decision..

Now

Sales information are automatically saved in the software. The software provide statistics and graphs, using which he/she can make decision. Also, software are programmed to order product electronically as soon as the stock comes to a certain limit. List of orders are saved and can supply order according to the information of the customer. In any problem, he can communicate with anyone to sort out the problem. In case of unfamiliar problem, he/she can arrange online discussion board to discuss on the topic, find the solution, and then make decision according to that.

Impact

• Sales figure is accurate.
• The person can get statistics of sales figure automatically generated by the software.
• Software automatically analyses sales and produce details and recommendation, decision can be make according to the recommendation.
• Order to the supplier is automatic.
• Stock in the warehouse is always balanced.

Banking and shopping

Before

He/she had to walk to their local branch/bank to deposit or take out money. Creating an bank account was difficult and had to be physically present in the bank to create it. To transfer money into another account or check bank balance he/she had to visit the bank physically. Had to shop from nearest market, pay instant cash, so he/she had to carry money with hi.

Now

Now they have a card which can be used in a cash point and certain amount of money can be withdrawn which he/she may need immediately. Depositing money in a bank is very easy and fast as almost all the work has been done using computers. He/she can open an account sitting in home or office. Can sit at home and check bank balance, or at work. Now, they can log onto the banks website using secure ports on the computer for safety and check there balance, ask for help and also transfer money from on account into another. Shopping can be done from home using e-commerce site. With some banks he/she can also transfer money from his/her account into business accounts so he/she can clear invoices. So it is possible to purchase something online and transfer the money electronically without having to use a credit or debit card that come people are very keen on.

Impact

• Depositing or withdrawing money is easy , quick and flexible.
• Creating account, Transfer money, and checking bank balance can be done sitting in home or office.
• With internet shopping it is possible to shop whenever he/she wants, where ever he/she want and also however he/she wants.
• He/she can shop from his home or office, so doesn’t need to go market. It saves time and money.
• The largest problem of online shopping is fraud.
• Most professionals do not have time to be queuing up at banks and sometimes doing their shopping so they do it all through the internet which saves so much time.

Entertainment and Leisure

Before

They are basically very busy, but in leisure he/she passes time he read newspaper or some books. He used to watch TV at home or listen to radio. If he/she wishes to travel far with his/her friends or family then he/she had to go to travel agency physically to set his travel plans.

Now

With the use of the Internet it allows instant access to movies or music so you can get access to entertainment. Newspaper can be read free over Internet, simply have to browse the respective newspaper’s website. Communication of information has allowed more people to hear about different leisure activities. Can chat or arrange conference with other peoples around the world to share his/her views and opinions. Now he/she can buy online concert tickets, CDs, groceries and holidays and other sorts of travel.

Impact

• Doesn’t need to bookstall to buy newspaper or books, can find almost all types of newspaper or books over internet, some are also free.
• Chat with other peoples around the world to share views and opinion.
• Can book Airline tickets or Hotel for traveling.
• Watch music or hear songs.
• Problem is, he/she can get affected, use Entertainment facilities more than normal and it would take way his/her valuable time.

DOCTOR

The impact of ICT on the following aspect of life are discussed from the point of view of a typical doctor:

Communication

Before Land phone at home or at office was his main source of communication with his/her patients, clinic, friends and families. This land phone was stationary, which means it was not portable. When a patient or clinic or hospital needs His/Her help or advice, simply they had to call him/her at his/her land phone. Problem arises when he/she is out of Home or Office. This sort communication was very inconvenient as the doctor can only be reached if he was in his home, which is very unlikely for a busy person.

Now Now, doctors use cell phone, it is portable and can be carried anywhere, so it stays with him/her all the time. So, he/she is available for his/her patients, clinics, friends and family for all the time as he/she can carry cell phone wherever he/she goes. He/she can communicate with others using E-mail, IM or conferencing. Using this Internet or Online communication, he/she can communicate or be in touch with other doctors around the world, with hospitals or with International societies and also participates in sharing knowledge with them and learns about all the latest developments in his/her fields.

Impact.

• Communication is easier and more convenient.
• He can carry phone with him/her.
• He is more available with his friends, families and others.
• Can communicate with international societies and hospitals.
• Patient can ask for his/her advice from around the world.
• He can be contacted anywhere, at anytime by anyone.
• When he/she is not in chamber or office, clinics or hospital or patient can easily communicate with Him/her.
• Phone Book option in his/her cell phone gives the facility to store huge amounts of phone number.
• Now with constant availability, the doctor can now attend emergencies at late nights and answer calls in any part of the day. With facilities such as e-mail, instant messaging, newsgroups and bulletin boards, the doctor can be part of international societies.
• He/she can keep him/her up-to-date about the latest developments news in his/her fields.

Decision Making:

Before He/she cannot give service to the patients with unfamiliar syndromes as he/she doesn’t know about it’s cure. These cases would lead him to refer the patients to other doctors with higher qualification or any specialty.

Now Now using Internet he/she gets latest news updates in his/her field, have communication with international societies and other doctors, using this he/she can discuss about any particular syndrome and it’s cure which he/she faced from on of his/her patient. Or, he/she can note the unfamiliar syndromes of that patient, then he searches the web for all possible treatments to diseases with the noted syndromes. Then after adequate research, the doctor notifies the patient and gives him the proper treatment. Or, to make a reliable and accurate decision , he/she can arrange a videoconferencing with doctors around the world to have discussion on that syndrome and find it’s cure.

Impact

• He/she can give the service to his/her patient, though it may take soe time, but doesn’t need deny the patient.
• Can discuss about this fact with other doctors around the world and comes to a correct decision.
• His treatments are now more accurate and more reliable.
• Also the help he takes from other doctors on the internet may sometimes be wrong due to which there is a chance that he may do wrong treatment to the patient.
• It is very difficult to arrange a video conferencing with others doctor as everyone is very busy at their own sector.

Banking and Shopping:

Before His/her earning money were kept in Almirah, or in a secret box. They also used to deposit money in banks, which was far away from home. It was very difficult to open an account in a bank, Terms and conditions of banks and rules for depositing money were not flexible. It used to take too much time to deposit or withdraw money. Nearest shop or shopping mall were his/her main places to shop for his necessities. He/she had to go or move far for shopping when he doesn’t find his/her desired item. He had to carry cash with Him and it was very risky.

Now Still money are deposited in banks or Almirah, but rules and process is much more flexible and easy because of the introduction of ICT. Now, banking system doesn’t take much time to deposit or withdraw money as almost is done by the computers. Opening an account has been made easy. Most bank do provide credit or debit card facility. ATM booth for depositing or withdrawing money is now found in almost every street. For shopping, he/she doesn’t need to go outside. To shop, he/she simply have to log onto the internet, browse e-commerce site, select item and order, that’s it! He/she would receive the item in a very short time. He can also pay using credit cards for hi/her shopping.

Impact

• Depositing or withdrawing money is now very easy and flexible.
• ATM booths are found almost everywhere.
• Any cab be brought over Internet.
• Credit cards can be used in super malls and while buying things over internet.
• If he/she have cards, doesn’t need to carry huge amounts of money with him/her for shopping.
• He can also order items online from his chamber to his house sparing having him time from shopping and spend that time in other activities.

Working Style

Before Inquiring the patient, trying to sort out the problem he/she might have, then provides a list of medicine for it’s cure or ask him/her to run several test to confirm about the disease and then make decision of how to treat him/her. Doctors didn’t had the chance to keep records of his/her patients and their syndromes.

Now The system is same: inquiring the patient, sort out the problem, and then gives the prescription. But he/she provides the patient with printed prescription which he writes using software on his/her. This software contains all the names and treatments of various types of diseases. Now, also he/she do have the database of all the diseases he has treated along with the names and other details of the patients who had those diseases. In case patient gives a test, a printed result comes out and this result is automatically transferred in original record of the patient in the main database used by the doctor.

Impact

• Can store patient description.
• Fewer mistakes when writing prescription as spelling checkers and other aids in the software prevent mistakes.
• Saves a lot of time.
• Have the database of patient and his/her disease and prescription that was given.
• New system increased the doctor’s performance.
• Doctor’s work is now more accurate and more efficient.

Leisure and Entertainment

Before The doctor used to pass his/her leisure time reading newspaper, medical journal or reading other book. Information is not the latest, that means he/she doesn’t get much information about the latest development in his/her sector. This form of entertainment was only on a single media that is paper. Also, he/she had to cost money for the newspaper or magazine and he had to spent time to buy those form book shop.

Now In his/her leisure time, reads newspaper magazine from respective sites which also provide live updates, reads e-books and get latest development news from many blogs and sites. He has also subscribed to some medical sites, which e-mail him any updates he is interested in, this saves him his money and the news about the updates are narrowed down so that he to get the most relevant information in the most effective way. He/she also, passes time chatting with his/her friends or other doctors around the world.

Impact

• He is always up-to-date.
• He is much more relaxed as he/she doesn’t need to go out to buy newspaper, magazine or book.
• The accessibility of entertainment and leisure being so easy causes him to be a little inefficient as well as sometimes he may lose the track of time and over enjoy himself.

SHOPKEEPER

The impact of ICT on the following aspect of life are discussed from the point of view of a typical shop keeper:

Communication

Before:

When he/she is out of stock, he used to make call in suppliers land phone and order or had to go physically at suppliers shop to bring the product. Letters and phone call in land phone was his/her main for of communication with his/her friends and family, which proved to be expensive. Now:

Uses Cell phone, E-mail to communicate with his/her suppliers, customers, friends and family. E-mail is very productive form of communication when he/she is abroad as phone call charge is very high. He/she can contact face-to-face with his/her friends and family using video chat or can arrange video conferencing. He/she has laptop with internet connection, which he/she carries with him/her all the time. So, communication can be done at anytime and from anywhere.

Impact:

• E-mail is free, only internet connection is needed. So, he/she can now communicate directly with his family members who live far away for free.
• Communication with suppliers can be made at any time and from anywhere.
• As communication is in time, which means he/she doesn’t rum out of stock.
• This constant connectivity helps him maintain his stock of products more efficiently, as orders can be placed instantly, just by visiting the manufactures’ site.
• Spamming can annoy him/her.
• The internet also has made him more vulnerable to virus attacks.

Banking and Shopping

Before:

His/her daily income was kept locked in a locker, he/she used to bring some of the money from the locker in home and keep safe in Almirah. He/she used to take all the money to the bank for deposition at the end of each month. For shopping, he/she had to carry his/her cheque book or cash. After shopping, he/she wrote a cheque from his cheque book and paid. Only few shops used to provide this service. In case of shopping from other shops, he had to pay cash.

Now: Now he/she can deposit money in banks at the end of the day as there banks are more readily located. It doesn’t take much time to deposit money due to the installments of the technology in the banks. Money can be withdrawn using bank cards from their cash point and those point can be found in almost all places. Now most banks provide this service 24hours. He now uses the computer to notify the bank at the end of the month to pick up his money. Can check bank balance sitting in home or shop.. Now he/she also provides the facilities to accept credit or debit card from his customers, customers find the facility flexible, and as a result the shopkeeper finds more customers. He/she shop online and pays by credit card. He/she uses special software in his/her shop which count the stock of each item and produce a automatic order if it reaches below a certain level.

Impact:

· Using Cards, money can be withdrawn at any time.

· Withdrawing money is fast and easy.

· Money can be deposited everyday. So, it is safe everyday. There is less chances of theft, which was a major problem before because he/she had very weak security

· Doesn’t need to go bank for transferring money from his/her account to another account.

· Can shop online. Because of special tailor-made software order is automatically sent to suppliers whenever needed.

Employment Opportunities

Before:

In any employee needed to help him, he/she had to give advertisement in local newspaper. Interview the candidates, chooses from the candidates and then employed them. Now:

Advertisement can now be given in local websites and newspaper through Internet. Some provides free service, other charges for the advertise. But the most significant thing is, he/she can publish advertisement in local websites and newspaper sitting in his/her Room. He/she has made a generalized form for the applicants, who need to fill and submit it to him/her. Later, he/she goes through those forms to choose his employee.

Impact:

• Some websites offers free advertisement, other has charge but the charge is low. So, he/she spends less money for getting employee than before.
• He/she doesn’t need to go out in newspaper agency for the advertisement. This work can be done sitting in his/her room.
• Also he/she does not have to go through long interviews processes as he/she gets all the information of the person in a short form.
• Although as he no longer takes face to face interview he does not get a complete idea on that person's personality which becomes a problem later on.

Working Style

Before:

He/she had to list items with price in a big account book when the item is supplied by the supplier. The book contains item description, buying price, selling price etc. A ledger or sales book is used to list of all the sold items, using which he/she counts the total income of the day and also check each items stock by subtracting sold item with the supplied item. He/she had to make phone call or write letter or visit physically to purchase or order to get the item which is out of stock. He/she used to produce a yearly report by checking all the data in each book (account book, sales book etc.) at the end of the year to get his/her yearly income.

Now: List of all the supplied items are now recorded in computer database, which means no paper waste. This database also contains description, prices etc. of the item. In another database, all his/her sold items are listed. The database software produces daily, monthly or yearly income. All the databases are linked and stocks are automatically calculated and the software e-mail order whenever needed.

Impact:

· Saves paper waste as all the data are stored in computer database

· Storage system is secured.

· Searching a particular item from database is simple and quick, doesn’t need to go through all the records.

· Calculating Total sales or profit is done by computer and the calculation is accurate, while previously it was a tedious process of working night and day adding up the total amount for the daily, monthly or yearly reports.

· Stocks are controlled by the software.

· Virus Infection can damage or corrupt the database.

· If computer hardware crashes, all the records would be lost.

Decision Making

Before:

He/she used to face problem in making up mind whether to buy a particular new item for sale on his shop, because he/she didn’t know full description of the product and its popularity to the customers. He/she had to consult with other local shop keepers and took the decisions on basic instincts.

Now:

Now he/she gets full description of the product, can consult directly with the company via e-mail or phone call, and can gets full chart on the sales of products which would make him/her clear about increasing popularity rate among the customer of this product. Also he can consult shopkeepers from around the whole region to know how the product is doing and then put the item on sale in his shop. There are some survey sites which produce current popularity item or current demand of the market and this helps him to make a decision which new kind of products would probably boosts his sales. Impact:

• Before buying, he/she can justify the product.
• As he makes the decision after justifying the product, decision proves right in most case, and he/she now has more profit on items than before.
• He/she now knows the current market demand of the item.
• Some information on survey sites or product forums can be misleading so taking the wrong suggestion sometime helps him take bad decisions.

Conclusion

The use and impact of ICT has changed the way that we live, almost everything we do now has the use of a computer or use one of the information systems. What used to take some one maybe a couple of days by hand can be done now in just a few hours or in minutes. It affected and changed our personal, social and professional lifestyle. It advancing day by day and would advance more to make our life easier. With this technology our possibilities are endless and new doors of opportunity are opening everyday. However, bad sectors are also there, in this section I tried to sort out problems and criticize and appreciate the role of ever changing technologies in our daily lives.