Explaining threatens of information systems from users’ perspective

The article here pre4sents an argument on feeling threatened by Information Technologies. The paper also tries to find out the characteristics of the threat perceived by citizens. We would situate the argument of this paper in the development literature and to some extent as an applicable one. It is a descriptive-survey research that can provide applicable recommendations. Theoretically, our argument originates from the proposition that whatever we do, ranging from online shopping to GPS cell phones and cars, from timecards to paying bills and withdrawing money using ATMs, we are continuously involved the world of information systems. The world around us indicates that it is a complicated world and is almost not easy to live in or to lead a business without the help of such systems. On the other hand, in spite of many advantages offered by Information systems, we experience threats imposed on individuals, organizations and on electronic aspects of these systems. Feeling threatened and insecure by citizens is a phenomenon which has many psychological and social consequences and it requires a research so to analyze these threats and the resolutions for diminishing them. In order to do this research we first selected ten academic experts and using DELPHI method to distribute our standard questionnaire. The respondents analyzed the most important threats of the information systems. These threats were gathered by a survey on 330 Tehrani citizens who had dealt with information systems in various ways. Some of the findings reveal that among individual, ethical, politico-psychological, socio-economic and cultural threats, resided the politico-psychological ones which were the most severely perceived threat.