RIZAL TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY

R I Z of
Cities A LMandaluyong
TECHNO LO
and GICAL UNIVERSITY
Pasig
Cities of Mandaluyong and Pasig


































CHAPTER 3.1:

The Information Age

Student
Name
Section


Schedule

Program

College

Professor Rose Elaine Layco Lim

Science, Technology & Society – GE07 1

2nd SEMESTER I 2020 - 2021
 RIZAL TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY
Cities of Mandaluyong and Pasig

CHAPTER 3.1– THE INFORMATION AGE

Learning Outcomes

At the end of this lesson, the students should be able to:

• define Information Age;

• discuss the history of Information Age; and
• appreciate its influence on people’s lives.

Topic Presentation

Highly modernized, automated, data-driven, and technologically advanced-

these best describe our society nowadays, as evidenced by how information could
be transferred or shared quickly. The different areas of society have been
influenced tremendously such as communication, economics, industry, health, and
the environment. Despite our gains due to the growing development of
information technology, the rapid upgrade of information also has disadvantages.
This lesson will discuss the history and impact of technological advancements to
society.

Life is accompanied by endless transmission of information that takes place

within and outside the human body. According to Webster's Encyclopedic
Unabridged Dictionary, information is "knowledge communicated or obtained
concerning a specific fact or circumstance." Hence, information is a very important
tool for survival.

Information Age is defined as a "period starting in the last quarter of the 20th
century when information became effortlessly accessible through publications
and through the management of information by computers and computer
networks'' (Vocabulary.com, n.d.). The means of conveying symbolic information
(e.g., writing, math, other codes) among humans has evolved with increasing
speed. The Information Age is also called the Digital Age and the New Media Age
because it was associated with the development of computers.

According to James R. Messenger who proposed the Theory of Information Age

in 1982, ''the Information Age is a true new age based upon the interconnection of
computers via telecommunications, with these information systems operating on
both a real-time and as needed-basis. Furthermore, the primary factors driving

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 RIZAL TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY
Cities of Mandaluyong and Pasig

this new age forward are convenience and user-friendliness which, in turn, will
create user dependence.''

Different authors have diverse, contrasting ideas on the evolution of the

Information Age. In spite of this, we can still say that information is a very
important tool that helps improve our ways of life. One this is for sure, the
Information Age will continue to move forward and far greater than our minds
could imagine.

In this article “Truths of the Information Age” (n.d.), Robert Harris detailed some
facts on the Information Age.

1. Information must compete. There is a need for information to stand out

and be recognized in the increasing clutter.
2. Newer equated with truer. We forgot the truth that any fact or value can
endure.
3. Selection is a viewpoint. Choose multiple sources for your information if
you want to receive a more balanced view of reality.
4. The media sells what the culture buys. In other words, information is
driven by cultural priorities.
5. The early word gets the perm. The first media channel to expose an issue
often defines the context, terms, and attitudes surrounding it.
6. You are what you eat and so your brain. Do not draw conclusions unless all
ideas and information are presented to you.
7. Anything in great demand will be counterfeited. The demand for incredible
knowledge, scandals, and secrets is ever-present; hence, many events are
fabricated by tabloids, publicists, or other agents of information fraud.
8. Ideas are seen as controversial. It is almost certainly impossible to make
any assertion that will not find some supporters and some detractors.
9. Undead information walks ever on. Rumors, lies, disinformation, and
gossips never truly die down. They persist and continue to circulate.
10. Media presence creates the story. People behave much differently from the
way they would if being filmed when the media are present, especially film
news or television media.
11. The medium selects the message. Television is mainly pictorial, partially
aural, and slightly textual, so visual stories are emphasized: fires, chases,
and disasters.
12. The whole truth is a pursuit. The information that reaches us is usually
selected, verbally charged, filtered, slanted, and sometimes, fabricated.
What is neglected is often even more important than what is included.

Science, Technology & Society – GE07 3

 RIZAL TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY
Cities of Mandaluyong and Pasig

Historical Development

As man evolved, information and its dissemination has also evolved in many ways.
Eventually, we no longer kept them to ourselves; instead, we share them and
manage them in different means. Information got ahead of us. It started to grow at
a rate we were unprepared to handle. Because of the abundance of information, it
was difficult to collect and manage them starting in the 1960s and 1970s and still
going on today. This era brought about a time period in which people could access
information and knowledge easily.

Information Age also referred to people, information and societies that chronicle
the birth and growth of electronic information from ancient times to Samuel
Morse’s invention of the telegraph in the 1980s through the development of the
telephone, radio, television and computers.

There are four periods of the Information Age, namely:

1. Pre Mechanical: 3,000 BC – 1450 A.D.

2. Mechanical: 1450 – 1840
3. Electro-Mechanical: 1840 – 1940
4. Electronic/Information: 1940 – present

Some pioneers who belonged to these periods were Blaire Pascal, Alexander
Graham Bell, Steven Wozmak, Steven Jobs and Bill Gates.

Personal computers had become widespread by the end of the 1980s. they can be
connected to local or national network. Through a device called the modem,
individual users could list their computers to a wealth of information using
conventional phone lines.

The internet was developed during 1970s. in the early days, it was used mainly by
scientists to communicated with other scientists. At this time, the internet users
problem was speed. The development of the fiber-optic fastened the rate of
sending messages.

In the 1990s, the world wide web was developed mainly for commercial purposes.
New services were created to sell products. Now, airline tickets, hotel
reservations, books and even cars and houses can be purchased online. Colleges
and universities would post research data on the internet so students could find
valuable information without leaving their homes.

Claude Shannon is regarded as the Father of the Information Age.

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 RIZAL TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY
Cities of Mandaluyong and Pasig

Living in the Information Age

Effects/Impact

Technology is increasingly playing a crucial role in the success of organizations

particularly in school in this Information Age. The impact of IT gas been enormous
on various domains including education. Computers and the information they
process and provide have transformed every aspect of the society.

Since we live in the Information Age, IT has become part of our everyday lives.
There have been tremendous changes in the ways people live, work and play over
the past three decades. IT is composed of computer, networks, mobile and
wireless devices, robotics, videotext, cable television, electronic mail (e-mail),
electronic gadget and automated office equipment. Technological innovation and
entrepreneurship have been the key players in the changes we experience.

Everyday, we use technology in new ways. Computers are becoming increasingly

affordable and they continue to be more powerful as information processing tools.
Some of the advantages of Information Technology are:

1. Globalization – it has brought the world closer, led to sharing information

more quickly and efficiently and enabled countries to share ideas and
information with each other.
2. Communication – It has made communication cheaper, quicker and more
efficient. The use of the internet opened face-to-face communication from
different parts of the world.
3. Cost effectiveness – it has led to computerization of business processes and
increased productivity that gave more profits, better pay and working
conditions.
4. Creation of new jobs – it has led to the opening up of opportunity for
computer programmers, system analysis, hardware and software
developers and web designers.

The Information Age has introduced changes in the different aspects of people’s
lives because of the following:

1. Emergence of online companies

2. Creation of economically and stimulating businesses
3. More mature and educated people
4. Reshaping governments with new technologies

There are may be those who do not favor this occurrence citing the creation of a
technological divide, the impersonal nature of electronic communication and the
unregulated nature of the use of internet. Regardless of these drawbacks, the
world continues to becoming wired.

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 RIZAL TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY
Cities of Mandaluyong and Pasig

Whether or not we agree with these technological advancements, these are all
undertaken in the hopes of attaining the good life. The balance, however, between
the good life, ethics, and technology has to be attained.


References

Serafica JPJ, Pawilen GT, Caslib Jr. BN, Alata EJP. 2018. Science, Technology and
Society. 1st ed. Quezon City: Rex Book Store, Inc.

Prieto NG, Vega VA, Felipe EF, Meneses JL. 2019. Science, Technology and Society.

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