The Social And Ethical Implications Of Technological Based Means Of Social Control In Nigeria

Every society has means of compelling its members to conform to the norms and values that it holds dear for the maintenance of order. While the formal means of social control rely on laws and statues to maintain order and conformity, the informal means of social control are rather expressed through customs, norms and mores in the society. However, the contemporary society has become more complex as a result of industrialization, urbanization, civilization and consequently development in its widest ramifications that include technological advancement and means of social control. This paper discusses six major technological means of social control, target removal, target devaluation, target insulation, offender incapacitation, offender exclusion and identification of offenses and offenders. These technological means however has some ethical implications for the society which is been analyzed in the paper. We concluded amongst other things that these technological means can be faulted because they do not seem to respect the peculiarity of individual in the society. The paper strongly recommended that the government should redirect its efforts at creating job because unemployment is a major cause of deviant behavior.