Why is it important to follow computer ethics?

In the past decades, we have witnessed several technological advancements which has greatly changed the way we communicate, learn, and do business with each other, such as the emergence of cell phones, computers and the Internet.

While it is absolutely true that these technological advancements have greatly helped the way we lived, we should consider the fact that they also brought about many social and ethical concerns to the world. More often than not, most of us take technology for granted that we choose to ignore the detrimental effects it will bring to society rising from these ethical issues (Chao, 2012).

So what are computer ethics and why is it important to follow them?

When we say ethics, it is the discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation. While it is important to live an ethical life, i. e., living a more moral and principled life, it is also important to practice the same everywhere, even in the computing field, where sooner or later, you would face new ethical dilemmas.

Computer ethics is a theory of practical philosophy that takes a look at what developers and users can do with computer, contrasted to what they should. It also analyzes the moral and social acceptability of actions that happen strictly online, but can also have offline consequence (Computer Hope, 2017).

Simply put, computer ethics are nothing but how we use our personal morals and ethics while using the computer for various purposes (Techspirited, n.d.).With issues like software piracy, pornography, spamming, unauthorized access to somebody else’s computer, and hacking, it has become important to know the importance of following computer ethics to be able to create a safe-computer-based environment.

The following are some of the importance of computer ethics (Sonifuli, 2016)

1. To protect personal & commercial information such as login & password info, credit card and account information and government and commercial databases.  It also controls unwanted internet mail and ads (Spam).
2. To control plagiarism, student identity fraud, and the use of copyrighted material, etc.
3. To make ICT available and accessible to all peoples, including the disabled and the deprived. Accessibility needs to be kept in mind during curriculum design (in educational contexts), in order to maximize the capabilities of the technology.
4. To suppress dishonest business practices and to protect and encourage fair competition.
5. To promote moral and social values in society.

Computer ethics are very important for us to live comfortably and in peace, as they ensure the privacy and safety of the computer users, helps people use the computer in the right way, and guarantee that the works that done by someone did not declare by other people, hence we must do our part as computer users, obey all the computer ethics.

 

References

Chao, O. Z. (2012, 11 4). Computer ethics – Is there a need for it? Retrieved from IS1103 GRP 202: Computing and Society: http://blog.nus.edu.sg/is1103grp202/2012/11/04/the-importance-of-it-ethics/

Computer Hope. (2017, October 04). Ethics. Retrieved from Computer Hope: https://www.computerhope.com/jargon/e/ethics.htm

Sonifuli, S. (2016, April 21). Importance of computer ethics. Retrieved from Computer Ethics: https://sites.google.com/site/computerethics96/main-points/importance-of-computer-ethics

Techspirited. (n.d.). Importance of Computer Ethics. Retrieved from Techspirited: https://techspirited.com/importance-of-computer-ethics