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Adverse Effects of E-Commerce 43<br />
supply personal data, particularly when information, services or merchandise are<br />
requested. Companies store information on consumers and profile them in order to<br />
market items that may be of interest to them.<br />
Some organizations sell collected information as a good or service to other<br />
potential marketers (Ackerman et al, 1996). Companies may also mine data from<br />
public records like phone <strong>books</strong>, automobile registrations, driver’s licenses or<br />
home ownership documents located in city halls. This information is garnered by<br />
companies and in a database for marketing purposes (Hatch, 1996). This practice<br />
can lead to the endless junk mail that was never requested. Direct mail marketing<br />
is a form of privacy invasion. Junk e-mail is becoming very pervasive, with one bulk<br />
e-mailer, Cyber Promotions, boasting that it sends 1.5 million messages a day<br />
(Zaret & Sawyer, 2000).<br />
ADVERSE INDIVIDUAL EFFECTS<br />
E-commerce can significantly affect individual <strong>free</strong>dom and living conditions.<br />
The adverse effects of e-commerce and Inter<strong>net</strong> on the individual include social<br />
isolation, loss of security and privacy and loss of individuality. In this section, we<br />
briefly discuss these adverse individual impacts of e-commerce.<br />
Social Isolation<br />
E-commerce has far reaching implications in a social context. On one hand, it<br />
provides all the comfort of shopping from home; on the other hand, it removes oldfashioned<br />
human interactions for social needs. Take for instance the case of<br />
telecommuting that is becoming a reality. Today many organizations allow their<br />
employees to work from their homes. It is predicted that by 2010, the separation<br />
between work and home will have blurred, and areas once zoned for commercial<br />
use will be converted into live-work condominiums. The primary motivator for<br />
worker participation in telework programs is the desire to increase overall<br />
productivity through autonomy. Employees are able to choose their work hours in<br />
which they feel they are most efficient and can reduce the number of interruptions<br />
by co-workers and the stress of daily commuting. Therefore, they have an increased<br />
desire to work. In addition, individuals generally have more <strong>free</strong> time and are able<br />
to work overtime, without spending long hours away from their families.<br />
There are some positive aspects of telecommuting to organizations and<br />
society. With increased employee autonomy, organizations are able to retain their<br />
employees by providing more flexibility in their work schedule. Organizations<br />
benefit from fewer costs in recruiting, training, and disability costs. Organizations<br />
are also able to locate satellite offices in less densely populated areas. Environmen-<br />
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