Technology Employment, Information and Communication in the Digital Age

The recent global explosion in Internet usage has enhanced worker productivity and the availability of information to remote and economically disadvantaged population segments unimagined just decades ago. Continued increases in computer processing speeds when combined with decreased production costs has resulted in vast new information technology employment opportunities worldwide. The worldwide 2020-21 COVID-19 pandemic takes place in an environment where users find relatively new Internet Communication tools such as the Zoom platform to provide education to homebound students worldwide and populations under mandatory quarantine. The pandemic has also had a devastating impact on small businesses and created job loss and food insecurity worldwide. In the face of profound economic hardship, standing almost alone is the need for an additional 3.1 million professionals in the U.S. alone to fill the demand for cyber talent. As 2021 begins, the United States is presented with an ongoing and massive cyber hack of many U.S. government agencies and Fortune 500 corporate enterprises. In the pages to follow, the authors explore living and communicating in a digital world. We present a brief overview of topics such as: the selection and use of different types of computers, desktop and mobile, and many of their supported applications; an examination of the advantages and pitfalls of cloud computing and social networking; cyber security considerations; and projects designed to promote collaborative communication using multimedia and web technology.