Category: Effects of Technology

Nowadays, online shopping has become very common with the young generation and even with the elder generations. Because of the rapid development of technology, online shopping has developed its abilities exceedingly. When concerning any topic, there will always be pros and cons for almost everyone, and so will online shopping. There is a lot to mention about the pros here. You can easily find price comparisons of any product you purchase, no sales pressure happens here, can easily find varieties of products based on quality for a better price, see other customer ratings for the products, and so on. In my point of view, even though there are some downsides and limitations of online shopping, the number of benefits it has is humongous.

Even though there are many advantages we get from online shopping, some people still prefer physical traditional shopping in their day-to-day lives. One of the main reasons for this is, the inability to interact with the product, for example, if it is a dress, the customer cannot make sure whether it fits, here perfectly, and the cloth of it may be damaged, not getting the color you wanted, receiving a package which you didn’t order (another dress could be sent instead of the selected one). Even when considering a packet of biscuits, you might have trouble in checking the expiry date, selecting the quantity, etc… And it delivered lately. Not only that, some people are afraid to enter their credit card number details into the internet. Many elderly people have trust issues while making card payments online. Also, when ordering something from international online shopping websites, you receive the package after about one to two months time period. I think these are the main reasons still some people, especially older generations prefer traditional shopping methods. There are also a few other drawbacks, we have to face when online shopping. Yet, the majority of people nowadays use online shopping ignoring its few downsides.

The main reason for the rapid increase in online shopping is, the restless lifestyle of people living in society nowadays. They tend to do anything that makes their life easier and relaxed. Most of the people in this society even do not have time to cook their food and eat it peacefully. This is because of the rapid development of technology and because of the need to earn more money for living. So for them, online shopping is very helpful because of its vast advantages. To these people their time is very important so, online shopping is a highly advantageous method they can use in their day-to-day lives.

As mentioned before, the most important advantage people get from online shopping is, that their orders are delivered to the doorstep of their home. They can buy whatever they want by only browsing through one or two e-commerce websites within a very short time. After the order is placed, it is delivered to their home when they are available to receive it. This means they never have to worry about forgetting something or losing a package, they just have to receive the order when it arrives at their doorstep. This also means you can be sure that your order is always safe and secure. Delivery times vary based on where you live, most packages ordered from local e-commerce websites arrive within two to five business days but if it is ordered from an international company, it might take one or two months to be delivered. And also another great benefit people get from online shopping is, that if they are not willing to input their credit card details, they can pay when the order arrives at home. Moreover using online shopping saves time, saves fuel, saves energy and even on some occasions money is also saved. It is also simple to cancel transactions. I think this ability to have the goods delivered to our home and be paid for after checking their goods is the main advantage we get from online shopping.

The second most significant benefit people get from online shopping is its infinite choices that are available 24/7. Most of the time, many goods that we wish to buy are not available in the local market, we now have access to an almost infinite number of online retailers and services that can deliver our favorite products to our doorsteps in a matter of days or hours. This unprecedented level of choice has made it much easier for us to find the products we’re looking for and get the best deals. And also if anyone needs privacy when buying goods, online shopping gives us full privacy to our orders. These are only very few benefits people get from online shopping. The number of benefits people get when using online shopping is countless.

With this rate of human lives becoming so much more complicated and filled with busy routines, online shopping might be the only way of buying goods and some services in the future. When we compare the features of online shopping five years ago and the present, the new and upgraded facilities, and features are uncountable. Back in those days, there were many technical issues in even the leading online shopping websites and apps, but now, even the websites of local retailers have very few technical issues. I think, if someone starts even a local shop, if they can give customers an online shopping facility, it might help them to develop their businesses rapidly.

The explosion of the Internet has caused substantial growth in electronic commerce (e-commerce) as many businesses found that the start of online businesses provides unparalleled opportunities for organizations to extend their operations. The Internet is a medium that is gaining popularity across the world. In this age of globalization, the Internet has gone beyond networking and is now concentrating on the delivery and trading of information, goods, and services. This increasing use of the internet has been simplified by the growing spread of e-commerce websites, mobile commerce (m-commerce) applications such as mobile phones online shopping, and mobile payments for different categories of products, as well as food ones.

Developments in technology are allowing business transactions to take place and have led to an expansion of shopping choices, beyond traditional methods that used to impose time and displacement constraints. Nowadays, people across the globe have moved towards the intensive use of the Internet as a market channel, owing to the number of advantages it offers. Online grocery shopping is a way of purchasing foodstuffs including perishables and other household supplies through a web-based shopping service and it is significantly different from general online shopping due to the characteristics of the food products and the frequency of the purchasing activity.

As stated in a report from the Food Marketing Institute and Nielsen, around 70% of consumers will shop online for groceries by 2024. The implementation of online shopping, mainly online grocery shopping, continues to witness incredible growth. Research shows that the majority of shoppers are expected to be buying their grocery shopping online and nowadays even Mauritius is trying to keep pace with the technological advancement which is prevailing in the market. Other changes have greatly contributed to the rise in e-shopping, particularly due to the increased use of credit cards and the progress of secure online payment solutions. Even though online grocery shopping is a relatively new environment, it has experienced continuous growth worldwide.

Another factor that has led to a rise in online shopping is the current COVID-19 pandemic which has drastically changed and redefined the daily way of life. With the lockdown resulting from the pandemic, buying products online has become a facility for the community and this applies to food products. Even during the pandemic, groceries are still basic human necessities. For instance, traditional grocery shopping inconveniences are eliminated which makes online grocery shopping even more tempting. Therefore, from banking, and bill payment to purchasing, the Internet has brought forward a new platform for these activities to be undertaken. All this has led numerous food companies to re-introduce themselves by announcing technological solutions for the management of online orders and for home delivery to meet the growing demand from consumers.

Although Mauritius is going through a gradual proliferation of online grocery shopping, Mauritians are already being immersed in the e-commerce waves. In this digital age, consumers prefer not to spend long hours in supermarkets to shop for their groceries, as well as for social distancing reasons. However traditional shopping methods persist and the integration of online shopping into the lifestyle of Mauritians is far from those of similar developed nations where online shopping has already become a common practice.

In light of the rise in online shopping, the Mauritian shopping landscape is undergoing significant transformations and the consequence is that traditional retailers are trying to adjust their strategies to take advantage of this transformation. Indeed, there are many success stories of organizations that adopted e-commerce, however, many organizations are still lagging in establishing an online presence. This is because several problems can emerge while adopting e-commerce. The failures of e-commerce in Mauritius have also often been attributed to the conservative nature of Mauritians, given that typical Mauritians prefer their conventional way of making their purchase rather than going online.

The purpose of this study is to assess how effective online grocery shopping has been in Mauritius over the years. The study will also analyze the perceptions that Mauritians have towards online grocery shopping compared to conventional grocery shopping methods, especially with the COVID-19 pandemic which is redefining the purchasing behavior of consumers. The various factors which encourage or deter consumers from using online grocery shopping will be investigated as well. The different factors that influence online grocery shopping behavior among Mauritian people will also be identified and how online shopping behavior is related to demographics such as age, gender, income, occupation, education, marital status, and internet access at home. These factors will enable us to predict future online grocery shopping intentions.

Therefore, taking into consideration that online grocery shopping is still in its early stage of development, the purpose of this study is to fill that knowledge gap by exploring Mauritian attitudes and behavior towards online grocery shopping and how they relate to this new shopping channel. The study aims to analyze and understand the attitudes, perceptions, and behavior of Mauritian residents towards online grocery shopping. The study will revolve mostly around the following research objectives.

Through person interprets the sense of stimuli in a manner consistent with his or her particular perceptions, needs, and expectations. The three stages of perception are exposure, attention, and interpretation In simpler terms, it is how a customer sees a particular brand with what he or she has been able to understand by watching the products, promoting them, feedback, etc. It’s the face of that particular brand in the head of the customer.

Factors deciding customer perception

In addition, several variables can affect consumer experience. • Consistency in results–How the company has done in the past and how it is currently performing are some of the key factors.

• Emotional communication–Superb marketers realize that emotional connection to the consumer is essential to the success of the business
• Brand Strategy–How the company interacts with consumers using a range of marketing platforms.
• Holistic marketing–A brand can not be excellent if it has a good sales staff but a pitiful support staff. A company must be a good all-rounder and please consumers from all points of contact.

Process of Perception

The process of perception is as follows:

Interpretation mechanism

Exposure- Exposure occurs when a stimulus comes within the range of someone’s sensory receptor — sight, smell, or touch. Consumers may either tend to focus on certain stimuli while they are completely unaware of others, or they may even go out of their way to ignore certain messages.

Awareness– Attention refers to the degree to which the sensory task is directed to a given stimulus. Remember, for example, the idea of having to sit through both fascinating and ‘less interesting’ lectures. From a marketing point of view, we are often bombarded by marketing messages through commercial outlets, making rivalry an ever-increasing trend for our attention.

Interpretation- Interpretation refers to the sense that is attributed to sensory stimuli. Just as people differ in terms of the stimulus they experience, the interpretations that we attribute to these stimuli often vary. Two people can see or hear the same thing, but their perception of it can be as different as night and day, based on what they expect the stimulation to be. The significance that we attribute to a stimulus depends on the structure (i.e. the set of beliefs) to which we apply it. Identifying and evoking the correct schema is crucial to many marketing decisions, as it sets out the criteria that consumers will use to evaluate the product, package, or message.

Online shopping

Online shopping is the practice of purchasing products or services over the Internet. Increasing numbers of customers find online shopping very useful for making purchases.

History of Online Shopping

One of the early forms of online trading was IBM’s online transaction processing (OLTP) built in the 1960s which enabled the execution of financial transactions in real time. One of its uses was the computerized passenger reservation system developed by American Airlines called Semi-Automatic Business Research Environment (SABRE).

There, computer terminals located in different travel agencies were connected to a massive IBM mainframe computer, which concurrently handled and organized transactions, so that all travel agents had access to the same information at the same time.

The emergence of online shopping, as we know it today, has developed with the emergence of the Internet. Initially, this website functioned only as an advertising tool for companies providing knowledge about their products. This quickly shifted from this simplistic functionality to the actual online shopping purchase due to the development of interactive websites and secure transmissions.

Specifically, the growth of the internet as a safe shopping channel has grown since 1994, with the first sales of Sting’s album ‘ Ten Summoner’s Tales.’ Wines, chocolates, and roses soon followed and were among the innovative product segments that fuelled the rise of online shopping. Researchers have found that having products suitable for e-commerce is a key indicator of Internet success. Many of these items fared well, as they are common goods that consumers do not need to touch and feel to buy.

But also important, in the early days, there were few online shoppers and they came from a narrow segment: affluent, male, 30+. Online shopping has been going on since these early days and–in the UK–accounted for a large majority (depending on the product category as figures may vary) of the Global Online Shopping Scenario: according to a survey by eMarketer, global retail sales–including both in-store and online orders–amounted to around $22,492 trillion in 2014. It is estimated that global retail sales will increase by 5.5 percent to $28,300 trillion by 2018. 

In today’s world of information and technology internet is becoming the most important thing for anyone as it is going to be “the “medium of the future. Online shopping is when consumers can visit web stores anytime anywhere according to one’s comfort. It all started in 1999-2000 with an online book store amazon.com founded by Jeff Bezos. People can purchase almost anything online, starting with groceries, clothes cell phones, and ringtones for cell phones, everything can be purchased online. There are many factors due to which the percentage of online shopping is increasing some of them are :

Convenience: when shopping online one has a benefit of round the clock, i.e. comfort of shopping even at midnight. One can also cut on travel expenses as by shopping online one need not travel to the store which makes it more convenient for the customer. The most frequented category of online purchase in India is “travel”. Maximum online transactions are made at IRCTC(an app to book railway tickets)in India. Online sites like makemytrip.com,goibibo.com etc. are a great success as people now don’t have to visit the travel agent or window to window to make their travel reservations.

Decision of price and price comparison: In a country like India people tend to compare prices before purchasing something. In conventional shopping deciding and comparing prices upholds to be a difficult task as different shops provide different prices for the same product. Whereas in online shopping you can compare prices just by clicking a button Online shopping is considered much cheaper compared to conventional shopping because the products reach the buyer directly from the manufacturer without involving any middlemen.

Variety: One gets a wide variety of brands for a product in one place. If a person’s shopping online is not restricted geographically, one can shop from retailers all over the world.

Sending gifts: Sending a gift to friends, family or relatives is not a problem in online shopping, no matter where ever they stay.

India has the world’s third-largest Internet user base with over 137 million as of June 2012. Though the shopping tradition of the world is changing rapidly in India online shopping is still not that popular. According to the report titled “From Buzz to Bucks: Capitalizing on India’s “Digitally Influenced” Consumers,”, 40 percent of India’s 90 million urban Internet users say that online activities such as product research and price comparison influence what they buy. In more advanced e-commerce markets, digitally influenced consumers in India rely on company websites for detailed product information as frequently as they refer to third-party sites for comparative research and online purchases. Current trends in online shopping in India show that the majority of buyers choose to shop at websites that allow them to purchase a wide variety of items from a range of different stores rather than one, select retailer. When purchasing electronics and other goods, many Indian shoppers rely on opinions and online reviews from other users from around the world. While online shopping is a good place for bargain hunting and to get products at a very competitive price, it somehow has not worked its charm in India. One of the major issues facing the Internet segment in India is the lower average bandwidth of broadband connections compared to that of developed countries. Almost all online portals are in English and in countries like India where the mother tongue is not English the language acts as a barrier.

Online shopping has come up as a boon for all types of consumers and it has something to for everyone. Even though it is highly suitable and time-saving to a certain extent it is also cost cost-cutting exercise. The main area of concern is the limited internet usage and language problem. A lot of stress needs to be given to these two parameters so that this IT revolution can be of use to everyone in India and then only it can be a success in the true sense of terms. Otherwise, it will just end up being a style statement of a few who want to be away from the crowd and then it will lose its applicability in the real world. 

At the beginning of the earth, it was just a small part of the sun. Now it is the only place for the existence of life. Life started slowly from Stone Age to Modern Age. Then the people start to develop their places, changing their lifestyle. The most developing things from Stone Age to Modern Age are technology. Technology is developing day by day. Due to technology, our life runs smoothly. Technology is developing so many useful things which are useful for us. Technology helps human beings by giving better facilities, giving comfortable life, saving time, etc. in our daily life. Facebook, Google, Apple, and Amazon are giant technology for human beings that are used too much in daily life (Nadikaros, 2013). Technology is changing our lives every single minute because we are fully dependent on it. Technology like Facebook, Google, Apple, Amazon, computer, and television fully control our bodies. We cannot do anything without them. Technology has both good impact and bad impacts. It is good because it helps us to solve our problems, communications, entertainment, and education. But on the other hand, it is bad because it is heading toward global dominance, and problems in human health (Darwish, NOVEMBER 2011).

Technology helps human being in many fields and they mention below in the following points: 1. Education: Technology like Google helps human beings in education by giving much information to the student for their study. Nowadays, the way of teaching and learning has been changed by the use of technology. In the education field technology is the best way to get knowledge in an easy way. 2. Communication: Social Media and Cellphone is the example of technology that is widely used. With the help of cell phones, we can communicate with anyone in the world. Social Media like Facebook, and Instagram are widely used to communicate with different people. Communication is beneficial because it helps us to keep in contact with Family, Friends. 3. Entertainment: Facebook, Google, Apple, and Amazon is the giant technology which is used by too many people. These technologies are used as entertainment sources also. Facebook helps people to know about another person. Google helps people by giving them different types of knowledge about different things. Apple is the brand which produces phone, laptop, and watch and with the help of them people take entertainment. Amazon is the world’s largest internet company by revenue. With the help of Amazon people do not need to visit shops for shopping and people save time. Technology also has a bad impact. Its effect our health socially and physically. We have to face vision problems by spending too much time on phones and computers.

We are being lazy because of technology. Many college-level students are being affected by technology because they are using it in bad ways. They are using phones, computers, and the internet for playing not for reading. Our thinking level is almost dead because, with the help of technology, we can find easily whatever we need from the internet (Sharma, 2017). Technology has more advantages than disadvantages. Technology is helping human beings in every field. In the absence of technology, our life will be so difficult. Without technology, we cannot do anything. Technology is developing in every field and with the help of them our life became easier. Due to technology our world is developing in the civilizations of each age, stimulating economic growth, raising people’s standards of living, encouraging cultural development, and many other human activities. There are many fields where technology is widely spread out like defense, the economy, medicine, transportation, agriculture, social capital improvement, and many more. Technology is in every part of our life. Now we cannot assume life without technology. Technology helps to develop the nation. Technology like Google AI call makes our life easier but on the other hand, it cannot make a difference in humans and machines. Technology is turning into an addiction (Vincent, 2018). Technology is developing day by day.

Bibliography

1. Darwish, A. (NOVEMBER 2011). The Impact of the New Web 2.0 Technologies in Communication, Development, and Revolutions. JOURNAL OF ADVANCES IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY.
2. Nadikaros. (2013, 04 04). Retrieved from youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sS-q7yxNMuM&t=64s
3. Sharma, V. (2017, 02 20). CLIENT SOLUTECH. Retrieved from KLIENT SOLUTECH: http://www.klientsolutech.com/examples-of-how-technology-has-changed-our-lives/
4. Vincent, J. (2018, 05 09). Google’s AI sounds like a human on the phone — should we be worried? Retrieved from https://www.theverge.com/2018/5/9/17334658/google-ai-phone-call-assistant-duplex-ethical-social-implications?fbclid=IwAR39JBUi6n

Internet usage has become a far greater part of society in the past 2 decades. It is used for, virtually, anything one can imagine. Everything is connected to the web for example; if you want to order something from a shop, you don’t need to call the store and ask for it, you just have to fill out a form with what you want and it will arrive at your doorstep. Furthermore, another element the internet has brought to the people of the world is entertainment anywhere you are, people don’t need to go to the park or even get out of the house to have fun or socialize. Humans are spending an incredible amount of time on the world wide web. That is what is starting to worry some psychologists, the sheer amount of time the world population is spending checking social media, playing video games, or sending messages back and forth. So the question I ask today is, Is the internet addictive?

Addiction is defined by the Cambridge dictionary as “an inability to stop doing or using something, especially something harmful”. However, it doesn’t specify anything about any kind of substances so this refutes the idea that any kind of ingestion is required for it to be considered an addiction. The Internet is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as “A global computer network providing a variety of information and communication facilities, consisting of interconnected networks using standardized communication protocols”. It is quite difficult to make it appear that someone is addicted to the internet since, by what is stated by Dr Levy “…unlike chemical dependency, the internet offers several direct benefits as a technological advancement in our society and not a device to be criticized as addictive” However, is the internet making people addicted to it or are people just using it a lot more than they used to do it but in a harmlessly way?

First of all, let’s address the issue from the perspective that the internet is, in fact, addictive. This viewpoint falls in line with Dr. Kimberly S. Young’s article called “Internet Addiction: Symptoms, Evaluation and Treatment”. In this article, Dr. Kimberly states that addiction doesn’t necessarily have to include a substance but rather just be something that hinders your ability to function properly in society due to this activity. The criteria for internet addiction are the ones that are used in the assessment of pathological gambling but modified to reflect the effects of addictive behaviors toward internet usage.

There are several reasons to consider the internet as addictive, according to an article published by the mental help addiction center. One of the reasons is the sudden rush of dopamine that the brain produces each time the person logs on the computer. Users keep getting small rewards that give them a tiny rush of dopamine which makes them want to come back more so as to get even more dopamine thus creating a cycle that is extremely hard to break through. In addition to this, the web is not just on the computer anymore, now it is on your phone or tablet so it has become a part of our daily basis to check it due to the fact that it is intensely easier to gain access to it thus promoting the previously mentioned cycle. Besides this, the fact that there aren’t any significant physical changes in the user, according to mentalhealth.net, the lack thereof a clear negative side to excessive internet use makes people feel like there isn’t anything wrong with what they are doing, along with the fact that sometimes excessive use is rewarded, it makes people feel that there isn’t anything wrong with them.

Internet addiction affects family life for the addicted person, it disrupts communication and gets in the way of doing mundane but necessary tasks such as doing the dishes, or tidying up the room because the obsessed spend most of their time utilizing the web. Dr. Young claims that fifty-three percent of addicts had relationship problems and that marriages are the most affected by this phenomenon in which the partner usually takes up all the undone chores and feels neglected by the other person. When confronted, the addict will deny the accusations and claim that they don’t have a problem or that they are using it for something useful such as work or academic purposes. Moreover, online relationships tend to overshadow physical relationships, the addictive mate will isolate himself and resent doing previously pleasurable tasks like going out to dinner or watching a movie in the cinema. The sufferer would much rather stay indoors with the company of an online friend than go out or spend time with their partner, thus provoking them to quarrel more so as to then lead to a breakup or divorce.

On the other hand, the increase in internet usage and the rapid connection to it has made it easier for people to spread their ideas all around the globe, according to a study made by St. Joseph College. This has generated the possibility for people to learn from things happening across the world that might help them in the situation they are in right now. This communication tool has even helped movements and organizations to get more followers, organizations such as Greenpeace and the whole environmentalist movement has been benefited from the fact that, through the internet, people have been joining their cause and aiding them to the common goal which is, in this case, to ensure that earth is still capable of sustaining life in the future. Furthermore, the communicating capabilities of the internet have made it easier for families to communicate when they are in a different country so that one of the parents may have to stay in one country while the rest of the family has to move to another due to economic difficulties or any other situation, it gives the family an opportunity to talk with the family member that was left behind. Aside from this, the internet helps you communicate with people from every kind of reality and may help you broaden your mind and can help you discover new friends that you would have otherwise never met, an article in the new york times written by Jazmine Hughes supports this.

When it comes to the ethical point of view, as we have established before, internet usage is quite difficult to classify as an addiction due to the many benefits that it carries. However, as it may impede people from making the most of their lives and it may even impair them, we can not say that it is purely good with no negative consequences whatsoever. Unlike substance abuse, internet addiction doesn’t have any major physical side effects, but this does not mean that there are none. Usually, the sufferer spends an enormous amount of time using the internet (time used on the internet isn’t a deciding factor), on average people with the disorder tend to use the internet from sixty to eighty hours a week, with sessions that may last up to 20 hours according to Doctor Kimberly S. Young. To maintain these behaviors, patients frequently will disrupt their sleep patterns. The addict will stay awake past their usual bedtime just to spend more time surfing the web. In some cases, caffeine pills are used just to keep the session going. These kinds of behaviors create extreme fatigue for the patient and downgrade their performance academically or occupationally.

However, the benefits of the internet aren’t limited to communication, although it is its prime characteristic. The Internet can also help people research any topics they need to write an essay about them or to educate themselves on a topic in order to have a debate about it and be able to defend their point of view or even change it due to the new information they have gathered. What is more the fact that, according to an article from the Child Mind Institute written by Caroline Miller “…many of the things kids do on those devices are age-appropriate activities that in the past have been done offline: socializing with peers, exploring personal interests, shopping, listening to music, doing schoolwork, watching movies or TV.” Teenagers are just replacing things that required them to do much work, with the same things just that do not require the extra effort.

Internet addiction has been an issue since the 1990s with it first being introduced by Dr Young. Since then the topic has been excruciatingly researched by many due to the increasing worries that parents have for their children. An article published in PubMed Central states that internet addiction is being considered to enter the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders to be publicly known as a mental disorder and not just a colloquial term. A part of the psychology community has been trying to classify internet addiction as a disorder on its own or for it to be a symptom of other kinds of disorders such as depression or anxiety or maybe be an impulse control disorder. However, the factors that take place in assessing this addiction point towards it being its own disorder since “It is accompanied by changes in mood, preoccupation with the Internet and digital media, the inability to control the amount of time spent interfacing with digital technology, the need for more time or a new game to achieve a desired mood, withdrawal symptoms when not engaged, and a continuation of the behavior despite family conflict, a diminishing social life, and adverse work or academic consequence”. What is more, according to an article written for the PMC for the American National Center for biotechnology information’ there has been research that suggests that there is a biological factor that increases the chances of developing this condition due to the fact that people that are born with fewer dopamine receptors or do not produce enough of it have a higher risk of being affected by this.

On the contrary, scientific methods for the analysis and diagnosticating of this addiction vary a lot between different countries thus giving inconclusive results. This in turn has divided the scientific community between the ones that think that internet addiction is a pathological disorder of its own and those who believe that internet addiction is not real or it is just a symptom of another disorder, as mentioned before. In addition to this, the investigation into internet addiction has only just begun thus making it impossible for it to be studied thoroughly enough according to another article by the PMC. This shows that science alone cannot prove the existence of internet addiction.

After taking everything into account, one can understand both postures clearly. At first, my view was supporting the question and it still is because I haven’t found enough source material that proves that internet addiction isn’t addictive. However, conducting this research has led me to be more invested in the topic and to continue researching. It must be noted that my knowledge about this issue and my resources to investigate is limited. Perhaps a more thorough and well-funded investigation may reveal different outcomes and possibilities.

Contemporary society claims that the publishing industry is dying and the innovation of e-books will eventually cause printed books to death. Articles and books critical of the Internet, including the Internet’s impact on reading, have increased in recent years. The digital revolution has significantly impacted the ways of publishing. Most people are reading very differently today than they were in the past. Currently, the book industry is engaged in an active debate about how the use of eBook channels will impact traditional print books. On one side of the debate are eBook platform providers, such as Amazon, who claim that eBooks will not destroy print books, it could be the main method of selling (Hu and Smith 3). On the other side, many book publishers worry that print books and eBooks offer essentially the same content in different formats. They think that eBooks would cannibalize sales of print books because it has a lower price than a print book and take no time to produce (Out of Print 2013). No one knows what the future of e-publishing will hold, but its developments affect the publishing industry, authors, and consumers.

Knowledge has wider dissemination on the internet because it is convenient for people to find books and access information, which increases cultural diversity. Literate people across societies throughout the world are reading digital screens on a regular basis. People do cursory reading every day through a text–saturated worlds, such as reading billboards, school memos, news Web sites, e–mail messages, Facebook, or text messages (Wolf 2013). Spending time online does not mean people develop their online research or advanced reading skills automatically (Cull 2011). When it comes to university students, especially beginning undergraduates, ease of access to information often continues to be more important than the accuracy of that information for them (Cull 2011; Nicholas, et al., 2009;). They want the easiest and quickest way to get the information, such as getting quick snippets by Google or reading summaries of books online. They don’t want to go and read through the material themselves (Out of Print 2013). It is clear that users are not reading online in the traditional sense. For many readers, print books continue to be more suited to in–depth reading than e–books on computers. (cull 2011)

Moreover, E-books are destroying the business model. The book industry is facing a major change in distribution. Instead of the “traditionally publisher-to-retailer-to-customer” chain, new ways of distribution have appeared on the market, and new emerging platforms such as Scribd2 and Amazon have been created. Book retailers are experiencing anxiety and stress and Amazon is being accused of being “predatory”. Traditional publishers and libraries with their place and value chains are at a disadvantage (Vrethager 10). Authors are no longer restricted to traditional publishing houses. E-books require less traditional editing and production work and selling in new ways, which leads to a new value chain emerging, the true sign of disruption (Hu and Smith 5). The low price for top-selling e-books puts additional independent bookstores and gives Amazon more market power. To avoid being destroyed by E-books, the biggest bookstore chain Barnes & Noble, which had to close around 150 stores, decided to open its own website. In order to reduce the shipping costs with joint shipment, they provide the “pick up in store” feature if you order online (Vrethager 12).

Compared with the established authors who already signed up with big publishers with great connections, new or relatively unknown authors in foreign markets always encounter lots of difficulties. According to the report from the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (2018) in the last ten years, author earnings have dipped by 42%, and the professional authors’ median annual income is now below £10,500. Authors have been seeing their livelihood become less profitable. Therefore, some of them give up writing because they lack money to make a living and some of them need to spend their writing time on self-publishing (Out of Print). For a self-published author, it could be easier to get access to the English-speaking world as nowadays big distributors such as Amazon sign deals (Vrethager 12). The concern is this will result in a monopoly because it maintains higher market occupancy. This is a disturbing prospect that a single owner of both the means of production and the modes of distribution in the book business (Packer, par.10).

Amazon’s early investments in eBooks and e-readers turned it into a digital publishing and book-selling powerhouse. Nearly two dozen imprints and tens of millions of self-published works are overseen on Amazon’s platform. Amazon had more than 83 percent of all US eBook sales in 2017 (Statt, par. 3–5). With its fancy E-Ink technology and artful design that is convenient to carry and keep, Amazon’s product, Kindle becomes a threat to the publishing of books, the selling of books, and also the reading of books. However, did Amazon ever really care about books? John Thompson points out that What Amazon doing is “replicating the narrative experience of page turning and linear reading in a digital form” (37). Amazon chose books at the beginning because Jeff Bezos discovered the interest between the number of books in bookstores and the number of books in print. Books became a means to an end and now it is just one of the many things that Amazon was involved in (Chai, par.30). This company which claims to want a more literate world is making privately owned copies of many works that are already in the public demand, which is changing the Carnegie model of making knowledge available to the people. (Out of Print). Many readers consider that books are their property. They can borrow books, sell them second-hand, and read books as many times. However, this is not the case since the readers have permission to store the content but not own it according to the terms proffered by Amazon and Sony (Stone 3). The monopoly of people’s access to knowledge becomes an issue. The democratization of access to knowledge and the protection of copyright are important for the development of eBooks (Out of Print).

Moreover, the problems of preservation are gigantic because it takes a lot of money to maintain and update the information(Out of Print). There are 45 electronic text formats, such as Sony’s BBeB and Amazon’s AZW, and at least ten different E-readers currently on the market. There’s a problem of obsolescence, the hardware and the software can become obsolete(Out of Print). Although these E-readers support different types of text formats, it may increase the risk of difficulties in transferring libraries from one device to another when the original machine is damaged or becomes obsolete (Stone 3).

New technologies often do not completely replace older proven technologies. It’s not difficult to find people who do not accept e-readers and e-books. The depth of reading is more important than the way of reading because accessing information and the acquisition of knowledge are different. The development of eBooks made it convenient for people to find the book they want, but it does not mean that people can gain knowledge easier than before. Whether in print or online text, it still contains content that can initiate us to ponder thoroughly. People need to spend their time on reading and finding something interesting or thought-provoking on the books. Whatever the future of information technology is to be, people need to improve the skill of in–depth reading throughout their lives.

Technology has become advanced over the years which has now become a powerful tool, and has become a necessity in people’s lives. Technology addiction is a thing that has become very common in our lives and is an issue that has to be addressed. The addiction is universal which means that it can be at any place in the world that has technology. This issue can start at any time and can affect any gender and any age. Technology addiction is an issue that must be addressed in schools, and communities must teach students digital literacy to ensure this powerful tool is used correctly.

Technology addiction is frequently using gadgets or any piece of technology and not caring about the consequences that can happen. The addiction is ruining people’s lives and is hurting them mentally. Gazzaley does ongoing studies of how technology affects our brains and she states that “ your performance levels drop if you stop activity to start another”(Gazzaley). When our performance levels drop it can cause memory failure. Multitasking can make people think differently by making it hard to think of one thing at a time which makes people juggle their problems and make them look for more information even though the information they have is better and more reliable. It’s even worse when the subject is younger since younger kids have weaker minds because their minds are still growing. Sleep is also a big mental effect that comes with technology addiction. Teens need at least 9 hours of sleep per night. If kids can’t get enough sleep it means they can’t concentrate at school or on their work. Kids who do Not enough sleep can also have problems with coping emotional or social pressures. Modern-day teenagers are being separated from their parents by being on their phones or being on technology. Having a good relationship with family is being of important because of the distraction of technology. The addiction to the phone has become so great that children will take their teacher anywhere and be on it most of the time. The people will become more independent due to the fact they don’t socially communicate as much in person. Being socially independent can make people’s lives hard when it comes to talking to people and can cause communication problems. People will have a hard time with social skills because of technology addiction (Gazzaley).

Physical issues are an effect that comes with having an addiction to technology. Such as back pain, loss of hearing, and poor eyesight. “Nearly 70 percent of American adults say they’ve experienced symptoms of digital eye strain at some point in their lives” (Holmes). Being on technology can make you strain your eyes by using the technology too much in the dark. It can also make your eyes dry due to looking at the screen for long periods of time. Looking at the screen too much will later affect the eye and it will result in people getting glasses because of the poor eyesight. Hearing loss is also a big physical issue that is a long-term problem starting at a young age. Young kids love listening to music through headphones or earphones but it affects them in a negative way. Blasting music is hurting their ear drums which can later on affect their hearing. Listening to music or watching videos through headphones or earphones too much will hurt kids later on when they grow up. Back pain and neck problems are common in being on technology too much. Looking down while you sit down can affect your posture which will make people slouch while walking or sitting and later on have painful back pains. Neck problems come when you are lying down in an odd position to be looking at your phone or computer. Technology addiction has also made people’s active movement go down. Kids have been wanting to stay in to play video games or watch movies on their phones instead of going out to play outside (Holmes). American people have become more inactive letting their kids be inside doing nothing other than sitting down and using technology rather than making them go outside and be active. Children will gain weight after doing nothing except sitting down or lying down doing nothing. The health of kids is getting worse because of too much technology. Hands have been affected because people have a tendency to grab their phones a lot and it can strain muscles in the hands which will lead to problems with hand pain and joint movement. Using technology over a long period of time can affect people physically (Holmes).

Social media has made phones be checked on many times. People check their phones over 100 times per day and according to this professor “The average millenial picks up their smartphones 150 times a day”(Alter). The social media platform has become this living style as well. Technology addiction was caused by social media and YouTube as well. An app that has over millions of different kinds of videos People created a lifestyle on that platform and making videos for entertainment has become their number one source of money. Social media can also work like that as well but has less chance of making money from it. It has come to the point of technology where everything is recorded due to the new phone advancements. Social media can negatively affect someone as well. Cyberbullying is becoming a bigger issue every day. Cyberbullying is when someone is being harassed or called names over the internet. That kind of bullying is one of the harshest types of being me to someone. Cyberbullying has caused other negative issues such as social anxiety and depression. Depression is caused by being put down by mean comments to a picture or being called out for being themselves. Cyberbullying is part of a bigger issue as well. Suicide rates have gone higher as technology addiction has grown too. “33.8 percent of teens they surveyed between ages 12 and 17 have been cyberbullying in their lifetime” (Karlis). Cyberbullying will continue to grow and there is already too much to stop it from happening. Being on technology too much has made people not care about how others would feel by treating them badly. Some people cannot even leave their phones alone for more than an hour because they’re so addicted to checking their phones for messages or to see what’s on their social media. Social is one of the main reasons for technology addiction. Cyberbullying is something that can happen to anyone and to any gender. Social media gives people to show other strangers only what the people want and allow. Social media has basically allowed people to have a second life on the internet. Having that second life on the internet people feel like they can say anything not thinking of the consequences of their actions. People also spend a massive amount of time on their phones checking out the styles of clothes or checking all the drama between celebrities. Social media has created many issues one of being technology addiction (Alter).

This addiction has made people think differently and people can’t return to be like the past but they should consider how it has been affecting their lives negatively. Technology has many good things as well. Such as helping scientists discover and make better, more powerful medicines. People have been living more time due to having better health because of the new and advanced treatments. Technology has helped the studies of animals and climate as well. By giving them better technology they can locate animals using trackers and have a better system of producing food with meat and vegetables. Technology has helped people understand how climate change is affecting the planet and how it will get worse later on in the future. By having advanced technology we have been able to help other countries by having a better military. Technology has been used for good if it’s used right but some people and kids don’t understand the dangers of not being in control of technology (Karlis).

Technology addiction can start at a young age and will continue to affect the kid throughout his or her life. If the kids start at a young age they will think that being on the phone all the time will be okay, but they need to know the negative effects when it comes to being on technology too much. This addiction Is becoming a normal thing to modern people but it’s hurting people mentally and physically. “Almost 57 percent of children between ages 3 to 17 use their wifi at home”(Ferrera). Having the internet at home has made it easier for kids to get hooked on technology. Kids have weaker minds because they are still growing but what if growing up with technology around them affects them by letting them think it’s okay to use technology all the time? Their brains are growing and technology addiction can start at a young age.

Technology addiction has a huge impact on people’s lives and it should be addressed so that it can be fixed or made so that the negative issues won’t affect people as it does at this moment. People who are most vulnerable to technology addiction and children. It starts with boredom so they get into their phones and gadgets. After that, the kids are hooked and now everything won’t be as interesting if the kids don’t have their phones. The kids have been getting so attached to their social media and phones. “Internet gaming addiction, which is a major achievement”(Young). Online gaming is addicting and when people play time is sometimes wasted and can be used to do something better or help other people. Time passes fast when people play or watch videos all day. Gaming online has also become an addiction now to better graphics and faster consoles. Games have endless stories and can be played all the time if one wants to. It’s a good way to entertain but time may be used the wrong way. Teens rather play video games or be on their phones than do their homework or their chores. Being distracted for a long period of time affects the things they don’t get done on time and have problems at school or have arguments with their parents because the children don’t do what they’re supposed to do because of the addiction. Technology should be taught how much time it should be used because it’s affecting people in a negative way (McNamee).

Solutions to helping out technology addiction should be available and treated seriously because later on in the future if it’s not helped it will become worse and people will not notice because they grew up using technology so they will think it’s normal. One way of helping people is having a limited amount of time on technology when they’re young. By having a limited amount of time with the internet kids will learn that technology is not needed to be used all the time and will be happier to go out with friends and have connections with other children. The kids will get used to not having technology often and later on think of how they don’t need to be using technology to not be bored. The second way to help people will be by having teachers teach the power of technology and how it’s affecting the world. By teaching young minds the powerful tool it will become of use in the future. They will understand how technology is being used in different parts of the world and how they shouldn’t use it as much. Communities have to learn to teach digital literacy to kids and how they can use that to become better at writing and composing essays. The kids can use this powerful tool to be better at things they need help with at school or writing. This will become something positive in the future if it’s taught at a young age. The teachers can teach how technology is advancing in other things like in the military and at home. How cars are being more technology than their past cars. Technology is everywhere and it has to be taught people need to start seeing that too much technology is bad for mental and physical health. Parents should be more strict about letting their kids be on technology. Parents should push their kids more into going outside or joining sports. The parents should disconnect the wifi at home during the night and if the kids don’t listen to the parents the parents should take away the phones during the night. There are many small things that everyone can do so that technology addiction stops and becomes a thing of the past. Technology is becoming so connected with people that they need technology or they’ll go crazy because they are used to being on their phones for a long time. Technology addiction has to be fixed before people don’t even realize it’s a real thing that is affecting them in a negative way (Karlis).

Technology addiction is a big issue in the society that we live in and it should be addressed and it should even be taught at schools and at home. By teaching it to young kids they will learn how to correctly use this powerful tool. The kids will know how much time it should be used and end this addiction that is affecting thousands to millions of people’s lives. This addiction is everywhere and can affect every gender and at any age. People have made technology a big part of their lives but too much will hurt them in small ways and that has to change.

Works Cited

1. Alter, Adam. “Addictive Behaviors Reports.” Highlighted Articles – Elsevier, 2 Aug. 2017
2. Gazzaley, Adam. “The Real Effects of Technology on Your Health.” Stroke Center EverydayHealth.com, Ziff Davis, LLC, 15 Nov. 2017
3. Holmes, Lindsay. “Sneaky Ways Technology Is Messing With Your Body And Mind.” HuffPost, HuffPost, 5 Dec. 2014
4. Karlis, Nicole. “Teen Suicides Rise in Tandem with Cyberbullying – and Advocates Have Had Enough.” Salon, Salon.com, 12 Mar. 2018
5. McNamee, David. “Technology Addiction – How Should It Be Treated?” Medical News Today, MediLexicon International, 1 Sept. 2015

INTRODUCTION

The term library was derived from the Latin word “liber” which means a book. In the pre-industrial era, books were seen as prized possessions; Items which could be seen and accessed only by the select few. Later with the invention of the printing press and information explosion, special places were created to house these possessions. These initial public libraries were built with the sole purpose of collection of printed material and the users could access the data and seat within the range of the material. This concept has been evolving overtime with the changing culture and society and now, with the advent of the digital age, the library has been reinterpreted and strengthened. They are no longer seen as a mere depository of books and magazines. The modern library has become a platform for research and experimentation, a quiet retreat for learning, contemplation and reflection. They have become places for community growth and development.

DEVELOPMENT

The contemporary library emerged as a third place; a place between work and home. It was loaded with more attractions to make it a lively community space. The various programmatic changes are explained with reference to OLD AND NEW AGE LIBRARIES.

SPATIAL RELATIONSHIPS AND FUNCTIONS

In the traditional libraries, there is a main central arrival space which is usually well-lit and voluminous to humble the users. This space would have a circulation desk which would control the issue and return of books and would also regulate the users as seen in the case of the Baroda Central library and the MJ library. In the Baroda library, a few stacks are placed in this area which are hardly ever accessed. Thus, the entry is seen as a very formal space.

The arrival space of Baroda Central library Plan showing the formal arrival space of MJ library(Source: Retrieved from MJ library archives) This space would transition into a larger space dedicated for the mass collection of the stacks. There would be small openings meant for just enough light as the books had to be protected. This space was superimposed with the reading spaces at intervals as seen in the case of the Baroda Central Library. In this case, as the collection would grow, the reading space would be encroached. Here reading is seen as an activity which happens by the stacks.

Reading space between stacks Whereas in the contemporary libraries, like the Seattle central library and Sendai Mediathique, the arrival would show the essence and spirit of the space and would mostly be a multipurpose public community space with a small reception. Here the focus is to show the user the richness and diversity of the library.

The levels closer to the ground would be full of public activities like plazas, cafeterias, discussionrooms, store etc. The reading rooms, seminar rooms and stacks went up. There are now separate dedicated reading spaces which favoured both quiet contemplations and group discussions. For example, the Philips Exeter library; It creates niches for quiet reading and creates large spaces for discussion. In most libraries like the Sendai Mediathique and Stuttgart library, the reading spaces would overlook the stacks or be spiralled around it.

For storing the books, new concepts of spiral and square stacks were introduced for easier navigation as seen in Seattle Central library and Stuttgart library. The continuous spiral system had better organisation and more opportunity to grow. The idea of compartmentalized flexibility over uniform flexibility.

NEW FUNCTIONS

A grand Living room for the city, Cafeteria and roof terrace, mixing chamber where there is information exchange and access to computers and digital information, Special children’s library. Similarly, Sendai Mediathique has open plazas, book stores and multipurpose halls with seminar rooms, auditoriums and discussion spaces. Even lectures and film screenings can be held in the library in the AV rooms. Everybody can find their use and thus libraries increase in scale and become community hubs in the city.

ASSOCIATION WITH CITY AND PEOPLE

The traditional libraries are grand structures with classical status. They are revered buildings which was more about façade making and appearances. They served as icons for the city’s architecture. The entry spaces were grand and were raised to mark importance as seen in Asiatic society library.

Thus, these libraries would not seem as inviting and welcoming to all and people would go to these libraries with a specific purpose and for a few hours. The libraries today are anchor points for the city public as they support a wide array of events and functions. Now comfortable and inviting libraries are created which users can easily engage with.

There is no grandeur and the functions dictate the form. They are platforms for people from all backgrounds to come together. People come for an entire day and indulge in various activities. The library is now a community hub for the city and is as important as the cinemas or malls.

ROLE OF DIGITAL MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGY

With the advent of digital media, the traditional libraries are reinterpreted like in the Seattle central library. They give equal importance to books and media. With the advancing technology, books are monitored. This enables free circulation on the ground with multiple entries. The ground can be used for multiple activities as no regulation is required. No cues as there are multiple distribution points and issue points.

In the case of university and college libraries, the demand for services and technological access to information acts as a catalyst to make the library a place where all students head to for serious work as the library is the only centralized location where information technologies can be combined with traditional printed resources in a user-oriented and socially rich environment. Within the institution, the library becomes a dynamic learning space.

FLEXIBILITY

Future needs at Seattle Central library are met by continuing to reconfigure the spaces within the library building itself and not by leaving some area for future expansion like in the Baroda Central library.

The traditional libraries were mass based structures with spaces designed to serves specific functions. They had few openings for light to create ideal environment for books and not to provide experience to the user. In the case of Baroda library, a thick enclosure with long vertical openings creates the large collection space. The stacks are also structural and are hence fixed in their place and the books keep piling on and hence some stacks are added in the arrival space.

The contemporary libraries are designed to adapt, change and grow. They are all lightweight structure mostly made of steel for added transparency. Large clear spaces are made which create a community and connect the people with the outside and create experiences. There are also no physical partitions. The Light shaft of the Sendai Mediathique is structural and used for services and creates a forest like feel inside. It is wrapped by a thin steel and glass membrane. Here steel is used as an expression to create an experience of the lightness of the space and canopy.

CONCLUSION

Thus, in the contemporary libraries, knowledge is accessible in all forms and media. The various functions are interspersed with informal spaces where fraternity could gather and exchange ideas. It is a social program which accentuates all the attractions of the public and reading spaces. The environment promotes collective learning and is yet cognizant of the different human natures. It addresses the characters of different individuals through a multitude of spaces.

My presentation is on how virtual reality is used in the various sectors of the healthcare industry, i.e. to assist in physical rehabilitation, as part of a treatment program, or to help train medical personnel. I find this topic engaging, as I was not aware of virtual reality being frequently used in this field, alongside or instead of traditional medical practices.

Virtual reality is an entirely immersive experience, although the participant is aware that they are involved in a simulation, they can still find themselves extremely engrossed in this new reality. VR intends to either mimic our reality in differing scenarios or to project a representation of a fictional reality, i.e. in a mythical world. This makes virtual reality an effective tool for healthcare workers as they can seemingly project patients into different simulations of reality, according to their diagnosis.

Although, virtual reality is often considered a new advancement in healthcare sectors, in actuality its usage spans back to 1965, when Robert Mann created the first virtual system in medicine. He intended to facilitate a new training environment for orthopedics. Other practitioners expanded his creation in the late 80s and 90s to apply it to a range of hands-on procedures.

These are some examples of how virtual reality is used in the healthcare industry

• They include training medical students in certain surgical procedures
• Providing autist patients with different simulations of social situations – to help them feel comfortable
• It can help with anxiety disorders or phobias, as it makes the patient confront their stresses or fears that they cannot confront in reality.
• It can help people deal with bereavement by allowing them to see loved ones that have passed away.

Virtual reality has offered new learning opportunities and experiences for medical students who aspire to successfully navigate through challenging operations.

The VR experience uses gaming software to train and assess students, to improve patient outcomes.

This is achieved through access to the VR software and the equipment of a headset with touch controllers.

By using VR for teaching, senior medical personnel are giving students a resource that can allow them to ‘rehearse and tailor new skills in an entirely realistic environment’ with no risk. These skills can then be assessed by the teacher from a monitor connected to the headset.

On average up to 30% of graduating general surgery residents cannot independently operate. A student should perform a procedure at least 50 to 100 times to achieve proficient results, due to the complexity of the procedures.

Students can also view live-streamed VR surgeries performed by surgeons in specialist fields and broadcast to a global audience.

This is a 27-second promotional video from a company called OSSO VR. They specialize in creating VR experiences that mimic real surgeries. To quote “ their mission is to improve patient outcome, increase the adoption of higher-value medical technologies and democratize access to surgical education around the globe”

Jaron Lanier, a virtual realist and pioneer in his field, was an instigator in the creation of 3D immersive realities. He described VR as not only “a new thing that would be like a conversation, but also like a waking state of intentional dreaming”. Although, in actual fact, I believe that VR defies the concept of “dreaming”, due to the users’ awareness and ability to change the reality that they are submerged in.

The user’s awareness within the VR surgery experience would be heightened as they are aware that their perspective is being viewed on monitors that are set up to view the actions and progress of the student within the simulation. This assumingly adds additional pressure.

As student’s VR experience is monitored and thus being watched without seeing the viewer, it is apparent that their behavior would change. This is reflective of Michel Foucault’s theory of Panopticism, based on ‘the panopticon’, a form of prison popularised by Jeremy Benham. In essence, the theory looked at how the construction of the panopticon allowed the guards to see the prisoners without themselves being seen. This allowed the guards to highlight their power and the prisons to consciously alter their behavior, as they didn’t know when they were being watched.

The act of the student’s virtual experience being viewed without them seeing the viewer is much like the experiences of the panopticon prisoners. However, the student’s behavior would change based on wanting to impress their teacher or probably the stress induced by the situation. Whereas the prisoner’s change of behavior was motivated by a subconscious fear. An advantage of the students being watched is that they can virtually communicate their existing knowledge and skills.

Traditional methods of treating anxiety and phobias are now being used alongside immersive technology like Virtual reality.

This form of VR ‘submerges patients into an alternative world they can interact with, helping them confront perceived problems and challenges

This VR treatment allows patients to work through their stresses/fears in stages and works as a more effective way of tackling certain psychological issues.

With this technology, patients will be able to communicate where their anxiety lies. In this digital culture, patients might feel more comfortable expressing themselves through technology, instead of strictly verbal communication.

VR can be helpful when treating:

• A fear of flying
• Social anxiety – fear of interacting with large groups
• Exam anxiety
• Public speaking anxiety
• A fear of spiders
• Or other general phobias

This slide shows the original video of Stanford neurobiologists exploring responses to stress, anxiety, or fear through virtual reality. I intend to only show 20 seconds of this 5-minute clip, but the original video is on the slide if you would like to view it more.

The International Society for Presence Research is an organization that supports academic research regarding virtual environments. They hope to expand the use of VR to medical treatments at home, as care providers can see the value in this virtual reality therapy.

The video below of the XR health VR system was promoted by the ISPR, as an example of an at-home VR system that can still be monitored by medical personnel and communicate your results back to them. Due to my limited time, I will only show 20 seconds of the video, as I believe it to be relevant.

Henry Jenkins, a media scholar and writer of the acclaimed book ‘Convergence Culture, stated that “once a medium establishes itself as satisfying some core human demand, it continues to function within the larger system of communication options”

This quote reflects how digital culture is shaping how the healthcare industry approaches training and treatments. The ‘demand’ that Jenkins describes is evident in the continued usage of VR, alongside traditional treatments in the industry

He also comments on a corporation’s power over individual consumers, due to factors like expense as some people have “greater abilities to participate in this emerging culture than others”. Despite, this being written in 2006, this statement is still very relevant today. Participants like medical students are only able to use VR software like the OSSO VR if it is purchased by their medical facility or learning institution for £400. Similarly, healthcare sectors or patients have to rent VR sets for at-home use.

Some positive and negative factors of using Virtual Reality software and equipment in healthcare sectors include:

• It creates a risk-free environment for medical students to practice surgical skills
• It allows patients to tackle stress/fear in a monitored simulation
• Medical professionals and teachers can see what the patient or student is struggling with
• Patients can communicate physically how they respond to situations, rather than verbally communicating their issue.

Negatives include :

• VR not always being able to replicate real-life situations and the human factor that changes in reality
• The expense
• The idea that participant prefer this form of reality over their own, i.e. when VR is used for bereavement or escapism

Bibliography

Books

1. Georgios Tsoulfas (2018). Medical and Surgical Education: Past, Present and Future. Croatia: InTech. p78-p82.
2. Jenkin, H. (2006). Convergence Culture. New York and London: New York University Press. p3 -p16
3. Foucault, M. (1995). Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. London, France: Vintage Books. Part 4.

Websites

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