How digital technology has altered certain cultural norms and conventions

The inception of digital technology has changed the current society in many forms. Several cultural norms and conventions have seen a dramatic shift and even continues to evolve in different standards and forms. Areas which have seen such dynamic changes include, business, education, entertainment, civic engagement, among others.

In business for example, the internet (web 2.0) has altered everything. From the way products and services are produced to marketing and advertising, etc. Most companies currently use sophisticated digital machinery manufacture products and services. Business meetings are mostly conducted using video and teleconferencing with digital equipment and applications, unlike when business leaders have to meet physically to conduct business related meetings. Also, most consumers have shifted to online purchases, as a result shrinking sizes of certain retail and department stores. This dynamic has even changed how goods and services are distributed, where drones are being introduced for the purpose.

In education, virtual classroom and distance education is the reality now. Even with physical classrooms, digital and electronic boards, use of tablets, laptops, and smartphones for note taking are the order of the day, as the era of chalkboards, notebooks, pens and pencils are gradually fading. Textbooks are being digitized, whereas emails, blogs, text massaging are becoming the main way of communication among students, teachers/faculty and administrators.

On the entertainment front, streaming of videos, music, 24/7 digital news coverage, and video games are the best bet. Gone are the days, when children play outside all day and feel a little bored when the weather is not favorable. Not to mention the dynamism of social networking, where people finds new friends and associate themselves online for fun and other social benefits. More so, people can sit at the comfort of their homes and enjoy concerts and sporting events from different cities and across the globe.
When it comes to civic engagement, the new media especially, has made it possible for citizens to be more informed, harnessing them to take active roll in civil activities in society for positive action and engagement.
From the above discussion, one will attest to the fact the new digital world has an enormous impact on the way society do things in different spheres of life, altering a lot of old cultural norms and conventions. 
   http://www.wimba.com/company/newsroom/archive/k_12_teacher_explains_what_a_virtual_classroom_really_looks_like/
  

Social media and relationships

As internet and the social media continue to be a dominant force in the way people communicate and socialized in recent generation, the question is, are real meaningful relationships being compromised or in jeopardy? Not quite long ago, people in society used to have face-to-face conversations and interact in real time and space. To be honest, it seemed like those times used to foster cordial relationships and encouraged meaningful interactions far more than we see today. For example, people who use to gather in public places like bus/train stations, airports,  license offices, classrooms, to mention a few had better communication skills, or interacted better for positive social bonding.
In contrast, people who are gathered in these place nowadays awaiting various services seem to be busy busily surfing the internet or interacting on social media, making these places seem like  dead zones with everybody at odd with each other. Real one to one conversations and public interactions seem to be fading, which to me might lead to lack of public trust among citizenry. In a second example, even the situation has infiltrate into family lives. Family times are not even interesting and real as they used to be. Formally, spouses, siblings, parents and children used to interact more verbally, than it is recently. More family lives have turned into video games playing, music streaming and listening, time on social media with friends/coworkers/classmates, and even time with people we don't really know, instead of having fun with family members.  I think this is disservice to family ties and might hamper strong family bonds in the near future and generations to come.
Although, technological advancement, including the internet and the social media serves well to supplement the way society interact, we should however not lose sight of the fact that traditional way of communicating and interacting has an enormous positive impact on how families and society as a whole can have meaningful relationships.