In the 21st century, gaining great importanceinformation technology processes. Human activity depends on the ability to perceive and own data. A specialist in any industry should be able to process information flows using various means of communication. It is the information level that determines the degree of development of the state. Its industry provides users with all the necessary products and services.
But in some periods of history ariseinconsistencies between the intellectual abilities of humanity and an irresistible flow of knowledge A person becomes unable to process incoming data, an information crisis occurs. What it is and when it arises will be discussed further.
Social processes
The information economy is growing rapidly.Human society is embarking on a new stage of its evolution - the informational one. The share of the information economy in advanced countries is 40-60% of the working time, and it is constantly growing.
The society is gradually moving to the post-industrial, and then to the information phase. The criterion for these processes is the number of people employed in the service industry:
- if more than half of the population works in the service area, then society has entered the post-industrial stage of evolution;
- if more than half of the population is engaged in information services, the type of society is considered informational.
Researchers believe that the United States has moved topost-industrial stage in 1956, and the informational stage in 1974. The masterpieces of this and many other countries in the field of informatization are explained by the phenomenon of “ecological colonialism”, that is, the removal of industries in other countries.
Over the past century, the amount of knowledge gainedhumanity is rapidly multiplying, and this dynamics is steadily increasing. At the end of the 20th century, the scale of information increased by 30 times compared with previous periods. This phenomenon is called the "information explosion."
The process of evolution of society
The information explosion takes place in conjunction with other processes that speak of the beginning of the information age. Among them are:
- reducing the doubling time of knowledge;
- increasing material costs for processes related to information, in contrast to the same costs for the energy industry;
- the emergence of the opportunity to see humanity from space.
A similar concept of social evolution wasdeveloped by western scientists. Domestic researchers turned to theory later. This was due to the negative attitude of the communist society to other types of ideologies.
The process of social informatization includes:
- mediatization - improving methods for finding and transmitting information;
- computerization - updating information processing methods;
- intellectualization - raising the intellectual level of society.
The phenomenon accompanies democratization, merges with the processes of intellectualization, reinforcing the creative resource of mankind. What is the information crisis - this will be discussed further.
Turning points of evolution
The information crisis is a phenomenon thatactively manifested itself with the onset of the XX century. It lies in the fact that the flows of information rushed to a person were so significant that the processing turned out to be impracticable. The crisis affects research, technical work, and social and political life.
Multiplication of knowledge occurs withrapid increase in speed. If at the beginning of the 20th century, the doubling of knowledge occurred once every 50 years, in the 70s it was recorded every five years, and the acceleration process does not stop.
Manifestation
Information crisis manifests itself in different ways.Scientific publications in various branches of knowledge are printed in large quantities, but access to their reading is sometimes difficult. As a result, specialists are not able to navigate in scientific publications, which leads to duplication of work and other negative points.
Sometimes creating a technical model is much easier than finding documentation about it.
Political leaders who do not own this or that information can get into an unpleasant situation with dangerous consequences. Of course, not everything depends on awareness, but it also plays an important role.
As a result, an information crisis occurs, the manifestation of which is as follows:
- the flow of knowledge exceeds the capabilities of a person for its adoption and processing;
- a large amount of unnecessary information is created that impedes the adoption of the necessary information;
- There are various barriers to the spread of knowledge.
Causes
Scientists have identified various causes of the information crisis. Among them, it is customary to single out general and specific. Common ones include:
- any evolutionary processes over time exhaust themselves;
- scientific value over time is replaced by something else.
The specific causes of the crisis can be expressed as:
- unavailability of necessary information for scientific development;
- shortcomings in the collection and processing of information in various fields of human activity;
- the impossibility of finding information for small organizations;
- commercialization of the information sphere;
- waste of money in the dissemination of information.
Output
Overcoming the information crisis in partpossibly as a result of the application of new technologies. The emergence of new methods of dissemination, processing of information reduces barriers to access to them. Of course, only technology will not solve the problem, because it affects the economic and legal spheres - the information has cost and owner. The crisis is a complex phenomenon, and therefore it can be resolved as a result of the joint approach of the leaders of one country and the world community.
Exit from it is possible as a result of the informatization of society. What is meant by this concept, we have already considered earlier.
Major Revolutions
In the process of human evolution, several major informational revolutions are known:
- the first is due to the advent of writing;
- the second, in the 16th century, was explained by the appearance of typography;
- the third, at the end of the 19th century, is associated with the creation of electricity and the advent of radio and telephone;
- the fourth, in the middle of the 20th century, is explained by the appearance of a computer and various telecommunications facilities;
- The fifth is related to the integration of information processes around the world, with the advent of the Internet.
Important events
In the post-war period, stagnation in the economy occurred. These were the crises of 1974-1975, as well as 1980-1982. Events covered all developed countries. Production fell, unemployment began to rise.
The world of capitalism went into crises unnoticed. In the domestic market there was a glut of food.
In addition to the economic crisis, came andenergetic. Arab countries raised oil prices. Energy and raw materials became expensive. It required a transition to an intensive type of production, thanks to which it would be possible to save energy and materials, as well as reduce various costs.
Similar transition demanded new technical means and receptions. As a result, the third technological revolution began, thanks to which two centuries of industrial society development ended.
The crises of 1970–1980 and the formation of the information society at the end of the 20th century played an important role. Let us consider these events in more detail.
The crisis of the 70s was expressed in the fact that the efficiency of information exchange decreased. This is manifested in the fact that:
- the volume of publications increased;
- difficult process of communication specialists from different fields;
- increased knowledge that was not published;
- there was a problem of interlingual communication in the world.
A significant step towards overcoming this negative phenomenon was the emergence of a microprocessor in 1971.
The result of social processes
What led the crises of 1970-1980.? The formation of the information society was the result of previous events. Experts call several features inherent in such a society:
- an information crisis was resolved, that is, the discrepancy between the impressive scale of information and hunger was overcome;
- information flow is in priority over other resources;
- the main form of the development of society is the information economy;
- Information technologies are considered the foundation of society, capturing all areas of human life;
- One information space is created for the whole world, and each person has access to its resources.
These are the main positive points.
So, we considered the crises of 1970-1980, the formation of the information society and its characteristics.
