How do you measure that cost or its cost to society? The degree and education that I get by going to college may prove to be a very important part of my future. As new technologies are developed, your job in the market may not be in demand. This is the case with network administration. Novell was a hot networking software package and then Microsoft came along and engulfed the network operat! ing system market with NT Server. Employers are going to be looking for people specialized in the hot fields. I have learned that a job is never permanent, but no one can take your education from you. It's about having options on your road in life and from what I have seen your education does just that.
Have computers hindered our ability to communicate effectively? The question refers to our ability to fully express ourselves. Many times we just send e-mail that is very brief and doesn't reveal what we really want to say. We are increasingly taking old-fashioned ways of conversing for granted. The day of telephone calls, faxes, and just good old letter writing are almost phased out. Lets face it, it's much easier and efficient to send internet mail that can be there in less than 10 seconds than having to hand-write a letter and put it in the mail. It costs you 32 cents and you have to wait days for the other party to receive it. But what will this cost society? New jobs will be created by technology but there is also the unemployment cost to those who lost jobs to technology. .
What kind of behavioral cost will come from this? What happens when we can't negotiate and have no people skills? What are the costs of these skills? Take a look at the way we now communicate with our co-workers. We are merely feet from each other in the office, yet we no longer stand up and walk over to talk with someone face to face. Why? Is it easier to send them e-mail and await a response? We lose many forms of communication this way.