| It was said before and it may be repeated with no fear
of mistake, the Internet brought to us the EF world - Easy
and Fun - Efficient and Fast. We work, play, learn and
shop on the web – not necessarily in that order of
priority. We have access to worlds of information and possibilities
that generations before us could not even start to imagine.
Aren’t we - the children of the 21st century - the
most privileged and luckiest bunch in history so far? Well,
the answer is worthy of some elaboration.
Home alone
If you are a citizen of the developed world – and
statistics show that many other regions are catching up
on the Internet front – you probably manage your
finances and much other personal business on-line. The
financial institutions surely want you to do so because
it is cheaper for them. Most day-to-day transactions (and
some complex ones) are available to you 24/7, from the
comfort of your home. You no longer have to spend time
and calories or gas in order to attend to your banking
needs. Instead, you have to own and maintain a computer
(and your fair share of peripherals); buy and install
connection gear of some sort; pay for the Internet connection;
buy, install and keep up with all sorts of security patches
and upgrades; buy, install and keep up the anti-virus
software; purchase a comfortable chair and voilà!
In a few seconds, your transaction is done.
Unless you succumb to other attractions (of a financial
nature or otherwise) that pop up on your monitor uninvited,
you can then move on to the next company you do business
with. However, by this time the appeal of an online service
touting expediency and efficiency of a transaction has
turned our few seconds into minutes – even hours.
Working on the Web
A similar convenience – and trap - is extended to
many of us in the work place. Typically, the same financial
institution that has a mesmerizing website for its customers
will also have a vast intranet where its employees can
see the latest corporate news and announcements, manage
their benefits or their profiles for various internal business
applications, take part in forums, and so on. Everything
can now be done on-line, where before, one would have to
call various people in other departments, ask and walk
around and waste precious production time in the process.
But while many tasks related to corporate procedures are
now downloadable as do-it-yourself web or intranet applications,
little thought has been given to providing time allowances
and time-on-web management skills. No wonder that Internet
and email abuse has become a problem to the extent that
companies may no longer have a net gain in productivity
attributable to these technologies.
It is also amazing that, based on anecdotal evidence and
personal experience, knowledge workers do not spend less
time working thanks to the various web-enabled applications;
overall, they spend more time working - and are expected
to spend even more.
Words for the wise
So, how can one avoid the Internet trap – at home
and at work? Be aware that the trap is there that’s
all. Be aware that a lot is being downloaded to you under
the EF disguise and all of it cumulatively can ultimately
encroach upon your time, budget and health. My advice is
to remain focused on the task. Do what you have to do and
get out quickly. Don’t get sidetracked. Understand
that most commercial websites and web-based businesses are
not
necessarily designed
with only your best interests in mind. Do your math, and
do not pay for the wonderful convenience that an online
service provides with more of your time than it is really
worth to you.
Tatiana Andronache is IT technical staff
for a large information technology company in Toronto, Canada.
She can be reached at tatiana.andronache@sympatico.ca
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