Impacts of the industrial revolution

What other impacts do you think the industrial revolution had? On:

• The social aspect of human life and the environment

One positive impact of the industrial revolution was that people had more leisure time because the wok week was reduced to 40 hours. However with technology like TV, IT and game boxes as well as the need to spend time commuting there is an increase in social disenfranchisement and social dis-functionality. What I mean is that people spending time in "leisure pursuits" have less time to socialise. This would explain the sudden growth in "social networking" (i.e.  Facebook, Myspace, twitter) because human beings have an innate need for social interaction. So one social impact of the industrial revolution is that people are less competent at social interaction.
Other negative social impacts industrial revolution include:

• Increased income disparity (USA, Russia, India all have hugely disproportionate wealth distribution)
• Time Scarcity
• Social fragmentation and breakdown
• Increased Crime (perhaps)

Environmental impacts of the industrial revolution are numerous. Most obvious is the increased exploitation of resources. With the industrial revolution has also come the rise of capitalism as the dominant paradigm/hegemony. Unfortunately capitalism has inefficiencies, such an not, or undervaluing natural resources. Capitalism from the perspective of an individual business operates primarily in its own financial self interest little or no costing or consideration of the social or environmental impacts.

Negative impacts of the industrial revolution include:

• resource depletion
• species loss and loss of diversity
• air/ water/ noise/ light/ land/DNA pollution

That's all I can think of at the moment.....

PEACE