If you order your custom term paper from our custom writing service you will receive a perfectly written assignment on Information Technology and Its Place in the Media. What we need from you is to provide us with your detailed paper instructions for our experienced writers to follow all of your specific writing requirements. Specify your order details, state the exact number of pages required and our custom writing professionals will deliver the best quality Information Technology and Its Place in the Media paper right on time.
Our staff of freelance writers includes over 120 experts proficient in Information Technology and Its Place in the Media, therefore you can rest assured that your assignment will be handled by only top rated specialists. Order your Information Technology and Its Place in the Media paper at affordable prices!
The Media today has the ability to form and perpetuate stereotypes about
every facet of day-to-day life. No lifestyle is spared this process.
However, this media should not be blamed for creating these norms, as
today's society has a tendency to be very stereotypical. People have some
extreme urge to label every aspect of existence and put it into neat
categorical piles, as if this will help them understand the world and allow
themselves to be more content.
This is certainly the case with the generalization of people within and
pursuing information technology. According to Dictionary.com, information
technology encompasses "The development, installation and implementation of
computer systems and applications." The information technology
field is portrayed unfairly in the media, thus giving the field a
misinformed, somewhat negative reputation in today's society. Through
several television commercials and shows, movies, news and word of mouth,
computers and the people who study them have been pigeonholed and looked
down upon. These people have been labeled as geeks and nerds or hackers and
criminals. A rational middle ground is rarely considered and presented
within the media. According to Dictionary.com, a "Computer Geek" is a
"pasty-faced monomaniac with all the personality of a cheese grater". (Par.
) This is definitely an untrue and unfair stereotype that sinks into the
minds of many people when they contemplate their ideas of someone who is in
the field of information technology.
How did this horrible stereotype come into play? Ask the media, they seem
to have an answer to everything. Whether it is true or just an outright
lie, they will say just about anything to sell something to their audience.
Unbeknownst to many average citizens, the media is bought and sold, and
truly is biased. Noam Chomsky, a Canadian linguist and political activist
wrote a book in 188 that was subsequently made into a film, which takes
this concept to an extreme, mainly in the direction of news media. He called
the concept "manufacturing consent."
Broadcasted on the National Public
Radio program Morning Edition on May 4, 1 he quoted, "You have to control what people think. And the standard way to do this is
to resort to what, in more honest days, used to be called propaganda --
manufacture of consent, creation of necessary illusions." Chomsky delved deeply into this
issue and explained how these 'illusions' are bolstered. These Excerpts from the
transcript of the motion picture Manufacturing Consent Noam Chomsky and the
Media will give you a better idea of his research, he states,
"And they do this in all sorts of ways by selection of topics, by
distribution of concerns, by emphasis and framing of issues, by filtering of
information, by bounding of debate within certain limits. They determine,
they select, they shape, they control, they restrict -- in order to serve
the interests of dominant, elite groups in the society."
Though Chomsky's main focus was on the press, news media, he quickly summed
up his thoughts on alternative forms of media;
"Now there are other media too whose basic social role is quite different
its diversion. Theres the real mass media-the kinds that are aimed at, you
know, Joe Six Pack -- that kind. The purpose of those media is just to dull
peoples brains." (same source as last quote)
There are several reasons why people unfairly judge or look down upon people
who are highly involved in the use and study of computers. As previously
mentioned, the media is one of these reasons. The evolution of information
technology in the past century is another reason, perhaps with much less
impact than the media as a whole. Personal computers were not even widely
available until roughly twenty years ago. Many people who were already
involved in their careers did not have the time or willingness to learn
about computers. Some of these people are generally against technology
altogether and have little use for computers in their lives now. This is
highly understandable and makes little impact on how computer technology is
portrayed to society as a whole. On the other hand, there are many people
that directly effect the reputation of those who have compassion and
understanding of how important a role computers play in today's world.
These people are the media and their loyal followers that spread their words
to others like a plague. This is how rumors develop and stereotypes are
formed. Probably the biggest misconception in the media is that only the
male gender is meant to study computers for a living. This is displayed in
commercials and ads that only show men working with computers. An example would be the ever so popular Dell "dude" that talks in a teenage surfers accent. These images
are thrown at viewers, consumers, and society in general, which gives fodder
for women to believe they do not have the ability to pursue careers and
education within the information technology field. Some fear the associated
negative connotation of "geek". The School of IT (Information Technology) at
Ryerson University shows how this is true.
"To young women concerned with their image, the prospect of being labeled a
computer geek is far from welcome. As a result, they shy away from careers
in high-tech fields, resulting in a gender gap in the fields of engineering,
applied science, and information technology". (Par. .)
There are also many other forms of media that show this kind of behavior,
television programs being a major component. One particular program, which
is aimed toward school-aged children, is the cartoon Dexter's Laboratory.
It's basically about a young kid that messes around with gadgets such as
super-computers and acts like a "geek." Television Shows such as Dexter's
Laboratory reinforce the ever-present stereotype of 'geek'. There is no
proof; no statistics that claim a human being must be socially inept to have
the skills to excel in information technology. I have personally experienced
these stereotypes; I told a high school friend that I was going to fix an
acquaintances desktop computer. My friend was immediately shocked and she
gave me a weird look, implying that I would have nothing to do computers
because I don't look or act like a so-called "computer geek." This is just
one more example of how the media has convinced their audiences into
believing the negative stereotypes of IT professionals. Probably the most
influential form of media that displays the negativity of frequent computer
users is the news, namely CNN. I am a frequent reader of CNN news and I
constantly keep up to date by reading the technology section. Articles
frequently appear about how some "elite" computer connoisseur has illegally
broken into, or "hacked," computers and accessed or changed sensitive data.
These individuals are labeled as big-time criminals and the stories are
blown out of proportion to give the impression that they are committing a
bigger crime such as manslaughter. This is just outrageous and downright
silly. In my eyes and many others, these people are very important to the
technology and security field. They show the weaknesses in people's defense
systems and alert the company that their system has vulnerabilities and
should be fixed. I don't see any problem with this, in fact, I would be
happy if a "hacker" broke into my system to reveal that it had a weakness.
I do not think people like this should be punished unless they intentionally
cause damages to the company or individual. There are people that do cause
problems on purpose. These are the individuals who give computer experts a
bad name. They compile computer viruses that cause thousands, even millions
of dollars in damages to businesses and home users that rely on computers
for income and services. It should be made clear that these people are a
select few of the computer era as a whole. In contrast to the 'hackers' that
cause damages, you will find cases where websites are temporarily defaced to
send a political or personal message. More often than not, the individuals
responsible will save all the original data making it easy for the owner to
restore their site.
Labeled as a "hacker" in the title of the article, CNN.com reports that, "A
hacker who has acknowledged involvement in computer break-ins at The New
York Times, Yahoo! And other large corporations surrendered Tuesday on a
federal arrest warrant related to alterations of The Times' databases.
(Article Summary)
This summary makes this person seem like a repeated felon, especially the
use of the term "federal arrest warrant." It also seems to glorify him at
the same time due to the fact that, "Lamo (Adrian) frequently uses public
computers at copy stores for his hacking activities as he travels the
nation. He has offered to work for free with his hacking victims after each
break-in to improve the security of their networks." (CNN News.com). Last but not least,
movies also influence how people think of computers and information
technology. One movie in particular comes to my mind. Wargames is a
classic 180's film that was probably one of the first to portray a computer
genius as a so-called "hacker." This next excerpt from the Internet Movie
Database will show you how people might develop an opinion of people that
exceed in information technology.
"A young computer whizz kid accidentally connects into a top secret
super-computer which has complete control over the U.S. nuclear arsenal. It
challenges him to a game between America and Russia, and he innocently
starts the countdown to World War . Can he convince the computer he wanted
to play a game and not the real thing?"
The majority of media portrays computer technology in a misleading way, but
some depict the undeniable importance that computers play in today's
society. I would just like to mention a few of the most important rolls
that computers play a part of today. First of all most homes are furnished
and a majority of them have Internet access. E-mailing is starting to
become more popular, and cheaper for that matter, to send to friends and
family all over the world. Also, it can be a necessity for some people. I
have a friend whose parents are both deaf and have a computer system in
their house where they talk to a live operator via computer, and have a
light system that lights up every room when the doorbell rings. There is
also the national security issue. We would not be able to be so confident
if it wasn't for computers. Some examples include advanced weaponry, space
aviation, and most importantly, communications. There are more good things
that come with computers than bad, but the good things rarely show up in the
media. This brings us to where being successful in the computer field comes into play. There has to be someone to give this new technology era a direction. Computer experts from all over the world are coming up with new solutions and more elite technology every day. This helps us do things more efficiently which in turn gives us more time to spend with our families and so forth. Who wouldn't go for that?
Although the media gives Computer Technology both positive and negative
stereotypes, society needs to realize the usefulness and importance that
come out of this field in the present and in the future. Computers have
come a relatively long way, but are still in their "infant" stage. I
believe that a lot more things are going to happen in the near future that
will be amazingly important to our morals and well-being. This may include
the successful cure of fatal diseases such as AIDS and cancer, and also
technology that may find a way how to stop global warming and the hole in
the ozone that could one day become the death of our existence. So the next
time you hear people putting down Computer Information Technology experts,
remember what good they have brought us so far, and count on better things
to come in the future.
Works Cited
Manufacturing Consent - Noam Chomsky and the Media. Dir. Mark Achbar.
Zeitgeist Video, 1.
Chomsky, Noam. Interview. National Public Radio Program. Morning Edition,
4 May, 1.
CNN News. "Hacker Surrenders to Feds." CNN.com/Technology 10 Sept. 00
http//www.cnn.com/00/TECH/internet/0/10/hacker.arrest.ap/index.html.
"Definitions for 'Information technology,' and 'computer geek.'"
Dictionary.com. Oct. 000 and Jul. 17. AT&T Wireless. 7 Sept. 00
http//dictionary.reference.com/search?q=information%0technology,
http//dictionary.reference.com/search?q=computer%0geek.
"Plot Summary for Wargames." Internet Movie Database. 1-00.
Amazon.com. 7 Sept. 00 http//us.imdb.com/title/tt0086567/plotsummary.
Ryerson University. "Bridging the Gender Gap School of IT Management Boots
Up Initiatives to Attract and Support Female Students." Ryerson University
Online 00. 5 Sept. 00 http//ryerson.ca/news/001/00100.html
Please note that this sample paper on Information Technology and Its Place in the Media is for your review only. In order to eliminate any of the plagiarism issues, it is highly recommended that you do not use it for you own writing purposes. In case you experience difficulties with writing a well structured and accurately composed paper on Information Technology and Its Place in the Media, we are here to assist you. Your cheap custom college paper on Information Technology and Its Place in the Media will be written from scratch, so you do not have to worry about its originality.
Order your authentic assignment from and you will be amazed at how easy it is to complete a quality custom paper within the shortest time possible!
Comments
Post a Comment