Access: The most significant social effect of technology

The most important social effect technology without a doubt is access. Prior to technology like television and radio, people depended on newspapers for news from places perhaps not so close to home. TV and radio made information access faster. Once prices in the two declined, information was democratized. The Internet furthered the cause. Anyone with computer can access information they want instantly.

The beauty of access is anyone can create and add information to share with the masses, particularly with the start of Web 2.0. Blogging is a very new form of sharing information which is still being developed in terms what should be shared and how. Site such as Wikipedia and Craigslist are providing information for free and to anyone who can access it, as Craig Newmark stated in his keynote at SXSW Interactive 2006. Furthermore, Newmark said he didn't have an interest so much in making millions off his site, which is even more encouraging to those who seek information but may not always have the means to pay for it.

However, there are limits to access even in the world's richest country. A 2006 Wired article on the digital divide cited research from the Center for American Progress stating Hispanic and black students have limited access to Internet outside of school. It went on to state the lack of connection "narrows their ability to even think about the kind of work they can be doing." That is probably one of the most disturbing effects of technology, because it leaves an entire group of people behind. It affects students' education, possible future careers and even the way they communicate. You miss a lot when you aren't connected and the rest of your peers are.