The Affects of Electronic Communication on Me, My Family and Society Essay Example for Free

The Affects of Electronic Communication on Me, My Family and Society Essay In this task I am going to write a report on the effects of electronic communication on me, my family and the society. I will extend my report by giving a clear explanation that includes society in general, i. e. people and situations outside of my normal experience (i. e. business). I will also include in this report the people that do not have access to electronic communication. Uses of electronic communication at home (within my experience) Computers/Laptops Computers and Laptops are both common communication items at most people’s households. There are many communication features as well as software on a laptop and computer which are helpful in a day to day lifestyle. I use my laptop a lot to complete various pieces of coursework. One of the main programs I use is the word processing packages. Using this software I can save, edit text and print many documents. Without my laptop I would have to write out each piece of coursework for a draft version and then again for my final version. This would be very time consuming. Using my laptop I can type up my draft version and then edit that version to produce my final copy. I can easily click print to have a hard copy of my work. Another useful function of the word processing package is the fact that it automatically show me if I have any spelling errors or grammatical error. One type of error which word cannot identify is homophone or apostrophe errors. There is also the synonym function. This function gives a selection of words with a similar or same meaning. Computers and Laptops have made coursework more accurate because of the spell check and grammatical function as well as it is made much neater compared to a hand-written piece of work. If I was to handwrite my work then I would have to cross out any errors I made. This would make my work messy and therefore the presentation of my work wouldn’t be presentable. There are many other programs which I use on my laptop which include; spreadsheets, publishers, local databases etc. Each of these programs has its own special features. Internet I use the internet for researching various aspects for my work and coursework, communicating with friends and family via e-mail, facebook and msn. It is also useful for checking cinema listings, train timings, elevision programme schedules etc. I used the internet for the research of my coursework. I am an A-level student and have a lot to research for my courses hence I need to carry out my study over the internet. A lot of the courses I study at college require relevant research and information therefore I need electronic communication so I can have access to the related information. If I did not have access to the internet at home then I would have to make alternate arrangements so I could access the information. These arrangements would either be the library or a friend or relatives house. This could become inconvenient as if I had to go to the library I would have to be wary of the timings or if I had to go to a friend’s house I would have to make sure they are home or available. I will soon be applying for university and hence will need to research into career prospects and courses that I would like to do at university. Also I will have to fill in the online UCAS application to ensure I have a place in university. The new online process is very effective as once the form has been submitted I would be able to track my application to see which universities have offered me a place. If I had to send my application via mail then there would be chances of the letter being lost or undelivered. The online process guarantee’s that the universities have received my application. I also use the online banking service which most banks offer. This is so I can access details of my account using electronic communication. This service is very useful as I can handle my accounts while sitting at home instead of having to go to the bank. Through electronic communication I am able to do online shopping. This service is very effective as I can order clothes over the internet and my parents can order their house hold items, i. . groceries. This saves them going to the supermarket to make these purchases. Any big supermarket offer this service (for example: Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury, etc). The internet also helps my family and me to find jobs. There are many websites online which help me to find a variety of jobs which suits my timings. I am able to access the information about each job and process applications for the jobs I want online making it more convenient. The online service makes it easier for my family and me as we know that the application has been received before the closing date. Using electronic communication we are able to get an immediate respond to whether any members of my family or me have been accepted for the job. Using the internet I can also find out information on bus and train transportation. I can find the running times for both services and also book train tickets online. This guarantees that I have a ticket for a certain train time instead of having to go to the train station to book the ticket. Also if I book the ticket earlier than it turns out cheaper so I am able to save money and time. Weather updates are also available via electronic communication. Many websites (i. e. bbc, metro weather, etc) contain weather updates. This is an easy service to access as we are able to check the forecast for up to 10 days online. This helps us when we want to plan days out or family events. I can also find weather for various countries and the average temperature for each month of the year. This is handy when my family wants to book a holiday abroad. Also accessible using electronic communication is holiday packages. I have researched several holiday packages online and then booked the one that suits my family. This saves time as I wouldn’t have to keep going to a travel agent to find out details about my vacation. A well known electronic communication method is via e-mail or msn. I am able to talk to friends and family through both of these services. Msn is a good online chat services for instant messaging. Using msn I can talk to my friends and family abroad. The e-mail service is good for passing a message on to someone who currently can’t talk at the same time as me. Also via e-mail I can send work to my teachers and peers. Radio Radio is another type of electronic communication. It is used to broadcast signals across the country. The advantage of these broadcasts is that these are a good variety of stations which can be picked up from one radio player. Alongside the advantages are disadvantages. These are that the signal is not always clear and as there is already a lot of stations there is no more space for more stations to open. Many messages can be announced on air, i. e. birthday wishes, news, etc. If I do not always have access to a computer or laptop then I can call the radio station and ask for a friend or family member’s birthday to be announced. Telephone/Mobile phones Mobile phones can be used for communication in many different ways; either by call or SMS (Short Message Service). Mobile phones can be used anywhere without the need of a cable. If I want to talk about something private then the best method to use is SMS as no one can hear my conversation. There are many disadvantages to using a mobile phone. I don’t always have signal or if I do it isn’t always strong making the phone calls disruptive. I use the SMS service a lot to keep in contact with my friends. It is an easy service to use and can be used at anytime of the day. The disadvantage of using the SMS service is that it can be very time consuming when I want to hold a two way conversation hence a phone call would be the easiest method. Telephones (home phones) are used to keep in contact with other members of the family as well as friends. This type of phone doesn’t always have a wire although it can only be used within a certain range. Uses of electronic communication by a business (out of my normal experience) Electronic communication is well known in businesses. There are many electronic communication items used which are essential to the business.