"SOCIAL IMPACT OF ITName:Institution of Affiliation: ARE WE TOO DEPENDENT ON TECHNOLOGY?Yes, technology has become an inseparable part of our lives. It is obvious that it has its uses andwe live better with it. The accessibility to information that it brings and dependency means thatpeople especially the younger generation are at a loss without it. Most of the time there is lessneed to maintain knowledge when Google search can do that for you. People without access toIT often feel and are indeed left behind when it comes to knowledge of the latest information.Nowadays when I accidentally leave my phone behind, I feel less normal and it is as if I have lefta limb behind. This means that information technology has become an integral part of our socialfabric.IT is however not a problem in our lives. It is the way we use it. It is meant to be a toolthat makes life easier and not a way of escaping from reality. CAN WE KEEP OUR PRIVACYTechnology has availed many tools that we can use the secure our private information. Forexample, one can secure his gadgets like computer/tablet/phone with passwords, secure mailswith passwords or pins or one can encrypt his personal information thereby limiting access. Evensocial networks have various security options one can use to ensure his private information isprotected.HOW RELIABLE IS INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY.Reliability is an attribute of any IT-related component (hardware, orsoftware or network) thatconsistently perform according to its specification. Information technology is currently very reliable as improvements made over the years since itst was 1 incepted have been constantly improved and polished overtime.The current IT equipmenthave all been tailored and designedto perform according the their design specifications and wethus purchase them on basis of our individual needs and they help us accomplish them. Some ITcomponents reliability is expressed in quantifiable values like percentages.How do social networks like Facebook bring us together and how do they place us at riskSocial networks like facebook bring us together in many ways.They bring back social ties put us in touch with those we have lost touch with.They have made it easy for us to communicate with each other with at the press of a buttonsoothing that didn’t exist just 30 yrs agoThey cement social ties thereby drawing us nearer to each otherThey enable us make new friendsSome people even meet their soul mates via social networks.How they place us at risk.Once information is posted to a social site like facebook, it is no longer private.Personal information you share could be used to conduct attacks against you or yourassociate. Predators, hackers, business competitors, and foreign stateagents actors troll social siteslooking for information or people to target for exploitation.Information gleaned from social networking sites may be used to design a specific attack thatdoes not come by way of social networking sitesHOW COULD INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CHANGE YOUR LIFE FOR BETTEROR WORSE IN THE NEXT 20YRS?IT will change life in the following ways.Criminals will have new tolls to make life miserable for citizens’everywhreIt will be more difficult to keep things privateGaps between the rich and poor will continue to expand leading to violenceEducation as a basic need will be availed to allThe internet will fragmentize even moreManipulative institutions like governments will lose ability control.Information dissemination will become even more ingrained in our societyIt will increase my awareness of the whole world around me "