Information society

People use computers to share news.

This is called an information society. In this world, sharing facts is a big job. New tools help us do this fast. These tools change how we learn. They also change how we work.

Many people use the internet every day. This helps us connect with each other. It changes how we live our lives. The world is changing in many ways.

An information society is a way of living. In this society, people spend much time using information. They make it, share it, and study it.

This happens because of new tools. These tools are called information technologies. They change how we learn and work. They even change how governments run.

People who use the internet well are often called digital citizens. This change started many years ago. Some say it began in the 1970s. Others say it grew in the 1990s. The amount of data we store is growing fast. In 1986, we could store very little. By 2007, we could store much more. A man named Fritz Machlup studied this. He looked at the knowledge industry. He saw how research and media help a country. Some experts say this is a new era. It follows the old industrial age. Now, many jobs focus on providing services. These services use facts and data to help others.

An information society is a way of living where information is very important. In this kind of society, people spend much time creating and sharing facts. They also use, change, and organize information as a main activity.

This happens because of information and communication technologies. These tools help information grow very quickly in many different ways. These technologies change how we handle education, health, and even government. They can also change how countries fight wars or use democracy. People who use the internet well are called digital citizens.

Information works in a few different ways in our daily lives. A writer named Michael Buckland says information can be a thing. It can also be a process or a type of knowledge. In an information society, the main focus is on providing services. These services involve capturing and communicating data to other people. Most work in this society is about processing and distributing information. This is different from a society that focuses on making physical goods. It changes how we behave and how we interact with each other.

This new way of living started a long time ago. Some experts think the change began during the 1970s. Other people believe it grew during the early 1990s. This was when many nations changed their types of economies. We see this as a successor to the industrial society. The industrial society focused more on making material things in factories. Now, we are moving into what some call the Information Age. This is a steady change that affects our culture and our jobs.

Many people have studied how this society works with real numbers. An economist named Fritz Machlup studied this in 1962. He looked at how knowledge is produced and shared. He found that knowledge industries were a big part of the economy. In 1959, these industries made up 29 percent of the USA economy. The amount of data we can store has grown huge. In 1986, the world could store 2.6 exabytes of data. By 2007, that number grew to 295 exabytes.

This change connects to how we work and earn money today. An expert named Marc Porat described two different parts of this economy. The first part is for goods used to make more information. The second part is for services used by governments and firms. Some people say we are moving from material goods to knowledge. This is also called a post-industrial society. In this stage, many people work in the service sector. They use information to help the world function every day.

An information society is a specific type of social organization. In this society, the creation and use of information is a primary activity. People spend much of their time creating, distributing, and manipulating data. This process is driven by information and communication technologies. These technologies allow information to grow at an incredibly rapid pace. This growth impacts almost every part of human life. It changes how we manage education, health, and government. It even alters how nations handle warfare and democracy.

To understand this, we must look at how information functions. Scholar Michael Buckland suggests that information can be viewed in three ways. First, it can be seen as knowledge itself. Second, it can be viewed as a process of communication. Third, it can be treated as a physical thing or object. In an information society, the main focus is on providing services. These services involve capturing, processing, and communicating data. Most work in this society is dedicated to the distribution of information. This is a major shift from societies focused on physical manufacturing.

There are different ways to categorize this new economic structure. Marc Porat identified two distinct sectors within the information economy. The primary sector involves information goods used to produce more information. This includes tools for processing or distributing data. The secondary sector involves information services used by governments and other firms. These services are for internal consumption rather than direct sale. Some experts use these sectors to measure how advanced an information society is. They look at the share of a nation's total economy produced by these sectors.

History shows us a steady transition toward this new era. Many theorists believe this transformation began between the 1970s and the early 1990s. This period included major shifts in global economies. The information society is often seen as a successor to industrial society. Industrial societies focused on the mass production of material goods. In contrast, the information society focuses on the production of knowledge. This shift is sometimes called the Information Revolution or the Information Age. It represents a fundamental change in how human societies function.

We can see the scale of this change through specific data. In 1986, the world's capacity to store information was 2.6 exabytes. This was roughly equivalent to one 730-MB CD-ROM per person. By 2007, that capacity grew to 295 exabytes. This represents a massive increase in our ability to keep digital records. By 2007, 94% of all stored data was digital. Additionally, the capacity to compute information grew extremely fast. In 1986, computing power was measured at 3.0 x 10^8 MIPS. By 2007, it had reached 6.4 x 10^12 MIPS. This growth rate exceeded 60% per year for two decades.

Early researchers helped define these economic shifts. Economist Fritz Machlup was one of the first to study this. In 1962, he published a study on the production of knowledge. He identified five sectors of the knowledge industry. These include education, research and development, mass media, information technologies, and information services. Machlup found that knowledge industries were already very significant. In 1959, these industries produced 29% of the GNP in the United States. This showed that knowledge was becoming a central pillar of the economy.

This shift creates new challenges for the modern workforce. Some thinkers, like Antonio Negri, describe this as a move toward "immaterial labour." This refers to the production of knowledge and cultural artifacts. This model suggests that the economy relies on creative people. However, this can create a gap between different types of workers. For example, a few "star performers" might dominate the market. Their work can be easily distributed to a massive audience. This can make it harder for secondary players to find success. This is seen in how publishers focus on best-selling authors. It is also seen in how films are judged by their first weekend of sales.