Computer Literacy

"What are the costs of computer literacy? Some people argue that there are no such costs, but I believe there are a few which may be relevant. Does computer literacy affect the way we communicate, and if so, is this necessarily a bad thing? What is our future, as computer literacy becomes a necessity? What are the personal, financial, and social costs, as computer literacy becomes a necessity?

According to Webster's New World dictionary, literacy is defined as the ability to read and write. There is definitely more than one interpretation of the word "literacy" as we have seen in class discussions and from reading many essays on the subject. The world has grown beyond the understanding of literacy as the ability to read and write- we now have many diverse understandings of the word. But there is a new literacy emerging around the world that will soon demand the immediate attention of everyone.

I am referring to computer literacy. As our society becomes increasingly dependent on computers to take care of our daily needs, it creates a high demand for skilled professionals to maintain as well as take advantage of this technology. The computer job market is like a wave, a technology wave. I had the choice to ride the wave and possibly make a lot of money at the age of only 18. But if I had not decided to go to college now, instead of working full time, there is no guarantee that I would have a job when that technology wave breaks.

Last year, at the age of 18, I was working in a computer software company as a network administrator and making more than some people that have a college degree. Some may look at this as a tremendous opportunity, but I saw it as a possible pitfall. At first, I saw taking advantage of my high computer literacy as having no costs whatsoever, but what I was reluctant to see was that I was not taking any college classes to further my education. This would have proved to be a significant mistake if I had not seen the possible negative aspects of not having a college degree to fall back on. How do you measure that cost or its cost to society? The degree and education that I get by going to college may prove to be a very important part of my future. As new technologies are developed, your job in the market may not be in demand. This is the case with network administration. Novell was a hot networking software package and then Microsoft came along and engulfed the network operat! ing system market with NT Server. Employers are going to be looking for people specialized in the hot fields. I have learned that a job is never permanent, but no one can take your education from you. It's about having options on your road in life and from what I have seen your education does just that.

Have computers hindered our ability to communicate effectively? The question refers to our ability to fully express ourselves. Many times we just send e-mail that is very brief and doesn't reveal what we really want to say. We are increasingly taking old-fashioned ways of conversing for granted. The day of telephone calls, faxes, and just good old letter writing are almost phased out. Lets face it, it's much easier and efficient to send internet mail that can be there in less than 10 seconds than having to hand-write a letter and put it in the mail. It costs you 32 cents and you have to wait days for the other party to receive it. But what will this cost society? New jobs will be created by technology but there is also the unemployment cost to those who lost jobs to technology.

What kind of behavioral cost will come from this? What happens when we can't negotiate and have no people skills? What are the costs of these skills? Take a look at the way we now communicate with our co-workers. We are merely feet from each other in the office, yet we no longer stand up and walk over to talk with someone face to face. Why? Is it easier to send them e-mail and

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