The use of technology has brought many benefits to the business world. There are ethical concerns with the use of technology and social networking. One of the aspects that come with social networking and information technology use is that of digital divide. This is an ethical concern because of the fact that those who do not have access to technology could be disadvantaged in circumstances where they are required to use technology. One of the news stories from CNN addresses the issue of the digital divide in India. In the city of Bangladesh, there are many people who access the use of the internet while in some places in India, there no use of technology. This is unethical in terms of government provision of technology access. The way a given social group gets digital technology differs greatly basing on the haves and the have not; but according to some scholars, digital divide is dictated by the extent to which a given social group get access to information technology. The difference in the availability and accessibility of digital technology is defined by the challenges that are posed by the physical factors such as computer availability and connections. It is through digital divide that countries have been challenged in that they are looking on ways to reduce this issue of digital divide both internally and externally. Developing countries should use technology in an effective way to benefit from them rather than being dependent on developed countries (Canton).
There is also the ethical concern of cyber threats to social networking. One of the challenges that have been faced by social networking is the aspect of cyber threats. Cyber attacks have become rampant recently and are rising to greater heights unless something is done. In order to curb these threats, there is a need to conduct or carry out crisis management. This is the planning and coordination of the feedback received from a situation that poses a threat to a firm. Businesses face lots of threats and crisis that can hinder their continuity, and even though they are insured, businesses cannot be reinsured for every cost. According to a news article from IBE, there are many implications that concern cyber threats to businesses.
With the development of information systems and the internet, there is the increase emergence of threats that come as a result of the development of the internet. Ethical concerns of phishing and spamming have been on the rise. This has been enabled with the use of the internet. The internet is no longer a place where information is acquired and leveraging of competitive advantage by many companies, it also become a dangerous place where information can be stolen (Institute of Business Ethics).
With internet use, there is also the privacy of information for users. The common issue that is of concern is the access of medical records of a patient with the use of electronic health records. Patients are required to have privacy in the use of health records. There are concerns that come into play when dealing with electronic health records. With the increased use of information from the internet and the access of patient records via the internet, one aspect that needs to be addressed is that of the privacy of patient data on the internet. There are issues of privacy that have been seen to be a problem with the many health providers online. There is the need to ensure that the internet providers do use the patient information in a careless manner. A person working in another state or area can have serious health problems or emergencies. It is important for the new doctor handling your case to have information about you. The doctor needs information about your prior treatment or chronic diseases, what allergies do you have and the current drugs the patient is currently using. Despite the fact that such information could have been stored very well in electronic formats in your primary health care, the new doctor much have a mechanism of access that information in order to provide precise treatment. The problem becomes more complex when the patient has his/her data stored in more than one health facility.
The first challenge is privacy and security concerns. The information transferred between doctors, physicians and other health practitioners is very sensitive because it concerns the health of an individual. There must be reliable and secure transfer if information among the health facilities. The problem of too much information also is critical when it comes to medical malpractice suits by the patients. There is fear among medical practitioners that they will face legal suit by patients because they may not be able to go through all the information of the patients in the process of making decisions. This means that patients may have a lot of records stored by different faculties when the doctor makes decisions with only particular records it become risky. The law and policies about medical decisions based on important facts is not clear and consistent (Rodriguez).
Works Cited
Canton, Naomi. How the Silicon Valley of India is bridging the digital divide. 18/11/2013. 06/12/2012. http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/06/tech/bangalore-india-internet-access/
Rodriguez, Leon. Privacy, security, and electronic health records. 18/11/2013. 12/12/2011. http://www.healthit.gov/buzz-blog/privacy-and-security-of-ehrs/privacy-security-electronic-health-records/
