Less than a century ago, a person got inweek about 15 thousand messages. Now we receive about ten thousand messages every hour. And among all this information flow, it is very difficult to find the necessary message, but doing nothing is only one of the negative characteristics of the modern information society.
Characteristics
So what is the information society?This is a society in which the bulk of workers are engaged in the production, storage or processing of information. At this stage of development, the information society has a number of distinctive characteristics:
- In society, information, knowledge and technology are of great importance.
- Every year the number of people engaged in the production of information products, communications or information technology increases.
- Informatization of the society is growing, using telephones, television, the Internet, the media.
- Создается глобальное информационное пространство, which provides effective interaction of individuals. People get access to global information resources. Within the created information space, each of its participants satisfies their needs for information products or services.
- E-democracy, information economy, e-state and government are rapidly developing, digital markets of social and economic networks are emerging.
Terminology
The first to determine what informationsociety, there were scientists from Japan. In the Land of the Rising Sun, this term was used in the 1960s. Almost simultaneously with them, the term "information society" began to use scientists from the United States. Such authors as M. Porat, I. Masuda, R. Karz and others made a great contribution to the development of this theory. This theory was supported by those researchers who studied the emergence of a technogenic or technological society, as well as from those who studied changes in society, which is influenced by the increased role of knowledge.
Already at the end of the twentieth century, the term “informationSociety has firmly taken its place in the vocabulary of the infosphere specialists, politicians, scientists, economists and teachers. Most often, he was associated with the development of information technologies and other means that would help mankind to make a new leap in evolutionary development.
Today, there are two opinions about what the information society is:
- This is a society where the production and consumption of information is considered the main activity, and information is the most significant resource.
- This society, which has replaced the post-industrial, the main product here is information and knowledge, the information economy is actively developing.
It is also considered that the concept of informationsocieties are nothing more than a kind of theory of post-industrial society. Therefore, it can be considered as a sociological and futurological concept, where the main factor of social development is the production and use of scientific and technical information.
Come to a common opinion
Considering how heavily leaked intodaily life information technology, these consequences are often called the information or computer revolution. In the teachings of the West, more and more attention is paid to this phenomenon, as evidenced by a vast number of relevant publications. However, it is worth noting that the concept of "information society" is put on the place where in the 70s there was a theory of post-industrial society.
Некоторые ученые считают, что постиндустриальное and the information society is a completely different stages of development, so there is a clear line between them. Despite the fact that the concept of the information society was called upon to replace the theory of post-industrial society, its supporters still develop the important principles of technocracy and futurology.
D.Bell, who formulated the theory of the post-industrial society, considers the concept of the information society a new stage in the development of the post-industrial one. Simply put, the scientist insists that the information society is the second level of post-industrial development, so you should not mix or replace these concepts.
James Martin. Information Society Criteria
Writer James Martin believes that the information society must meet several criteria:
- Technological. Information technologies are used in various spheres of human activity.
- Social. An important stimulator of a change in the quality of life is information. A concept such as “informational consciousness” appears, since knowledge is widely available.
- Economic. Information becomes the main resource in economic relations.
- Political. Freedom of information leading to a political process.
- Cultural. Information is considered a cultural value.
The development of the information society brings witha number of changes. So, structural changes in the economy are traced, especially when it comes to the distribution of labor. People are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of information and technology. Many are beginning to realize that for a full-fledged existence it is necessary to eliminate their own computer illiteracy, since information technology is present in almost all spheres of life. The government strongly supports the development of information and technology, but along with them develop malware and computer viruses.
Martin believes that in the information societyquality of life depends on information and how people will exploit it. In such a society, all spheres of human life are influenced by achievements in the segment of knowledge and information.
Good and bad
Scientists believe that the development of informationtechnologies in society make it possible to manage large complexes of organizations, the production of systems and coordinate the work of thousands of people. New scientific trends related to the problems of organizational sets continue to develop.
And yet the process of informatization of society hasits flaws. Society loses its resilience. Small groups of people can directly influence the information society program. For example, hackers can hack banking systems and transfer large sums of money to their accounts. Or the media can highlight the problems of terrorism, which have a destructive influence on the formation of public consciousness.
Information Revolutions
The authors of the concept of "information society" argue that before it is finally formed, it must go through several stages of development of the information society:
- The spread of the language.
- The appearance of writing.
- Mass book printing.
- Applications of various kinds of electrical communication.
- The use of computer technology.
BUT.Rakitov stresses that the role of the information society in the near future will be to influence civilization and cultural processes. Knowledge will be the most significant stake in the global rivalry for power.
Features
Society can be considered informational in several cases:
- Individuals can use the information resources of society from anywhere in the country. That is, from any place they can get access to the information they need for their livelihoods.
- Information technology is available to everyone.
- In society there are infrastructures that provide the creation of the necessary information resources.
- In all industries, the process of acceleration and automation of work.
- Social structures are changing, and as a result, the scope of information activities and services is expanding.
The information society differs from industrial fast growth of new jobs. The information industry dominates the segment of economic development.
Two questions
The dynamism of technological modernization raises two main questions for society:
- Do people adapt to change?
- Will new technologies be able to generate a differentiation of society?
Во время перехода общества к информационному люди may encounter a significant problem. They will be divided into those who can use new knowledge and technologies, and those who do not possess such skills. As a result, information technologies will remain in the hands of a small social group, which will lead to the inevitable stratification of society and the struggle for power.
But despite this danger, new technologiescan expand the rights of citizens by giving them instant access to the necessary information. They will give the opportunity to create, and not just consume new knowledge and allow you to maintain the anonymity of personal messages. Although, on the other hand, the penetration of information technology into private life carries with it the threat of privacy of personal data. From whatever side you look at the information society, the main tendencies of its development will always cause both a sea of enthusiasm and an uproar. As, however, in any other area.
Information Society: Development Strategy
When it was recognized that society switched toa new stage of development, and appropriate steps were required. The authorities of many countries have begun to develop an information society development plan. For example, in Russia, researchers identify several stages of development:
- First, the foundations were formed in the field of informatization (1991-1994).
- Later, there was a change of priorities from informatization to the creation of an information policy (1994-1998).
- The third stage is the formation of a policy in the field of creating an information society (the year 2002 is our time).
Interested in developing this process andstate. In 2008, the Russian government adopted an information society development strategy, which is valid until 2020. The government has set itself the following tasks:
- Creation of information and telecommunication infrastructure to provide on its basis high-quality services for access to information.
- Based on the development of technology, improve the quality of education, medical care and social protection.
- Improving the system of state guarantees of human rights in the information sphere.
- Using information and telecommunication technologies to improve the economy.
- Increase the efficiency of public administration.
- Develop science, technology and technology to prepare qualified personnel in the field of information technology.
- Save culture, strengthen moral and patriotic principles in the public consciousness, develop a system of cultural and humanitarian education.
- To counteract the use of information technology as a threat to the national interests of the country.
To solve such problems, the stateThe apparatus develops special measures for the development of a new society. Identify benchmarks of the dynamics of social development, improve the policy in the field of information technology. They create favorable conditions for the development of science, technology and equal access of citizens to information.
conclusions
So what is the information society?This is a theoretical model that is used to describe the new stage of social development, which began with the beginning of the information-computer revolution. The technological basis in this society is not industrial, but information and telecommunication technologies.
Это общество, где информация является основным economic resource, and the pace of development of this sector comes out on top, in the number of employees, the share of GDP and investment. The developed infrastructure is traced, which provides for the creation of information resources. To her in the first place include education and science. In such a society, intellectual property is the main form of ownership.
Information turns into a mass productconsumption. Everyone living in a society has access to any kind of information; this guarantees not only the law, but also technical capabilities. In addition, there are new criteria for assessing the level of development of society. For example, an important criterion is the number of computers, connections on the Web, mobile and home phones. With the help of the merger of telecommunications, computer-electronic and audiovisual equipment in society creates a single integrated information system.
Today, the information society canregard it as a kind of global phenomenon that includes: the global information economy, space, infrastructure, and the legislative and legal system. Here business activity is becoming an information and communication environment, the virtual economy and financial system is spreading more and more. The information society gives many opportunities, but it did not arise from nowhere - it is the result of the centuries-old activity of all mankind.
