INFORMATION SOCIETY: CHARACTERISTICS, ADVANTAGES, DISADVANTAGES - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The information society is a society in which the use, creation and distribution of information of various kinds is a common activity, be it in politics, economics or culture. Its main exponent is the development of communication and information technologies, mainly digital media.

The presence of these tools usually generates significant changes within these societies in the various areas that comprise them. This includes everything related to the economy, education, military decision-making and criticism of democracy. It is a phenomenon that occurred as a result of overexposure to information.

Origin

The origin of the information society occurred with the emergence of the Information Age, which is considered to be the current state of development of the human race.

The Information Age is the period in the history of humanity in which the effects of the Industrial Revolution are left behind to emphasize the production of information technologies.

In turn, the origin of this era is accompanied by the greatest human revolution after the Industrial Revolution, known as the Digital Revolution. This was the period when mechanical and analog technology was discontinued to begin a digitization process that is still in force today.

The information society is the direct consequence of today's easy access to electronic devices such as personal computers or smartphones. The Information Age is constantly evolving thanks to the introduction of new technologies every year.

characteristics

Increase of information

One of the main attributes that defines the information society is the constant growth that demonstrates the ability to obtain information.

This is reflected in the new digital technologies that allow greater data storage each year, which in turn gives companies much more information access.

The increase in information is not only linked to the development of the Internet, but also to all kinds of digital technology that influences communication, such as the devices used by the mass media to transmit digital data around the world.

Furthermore, the joint development of communication technologies at the end of the 1990s defined the growth of the information society, as this gave rise to the development of new economic technologies that increased the performance of the various branches of societies.

Information as an economic resource

In this type of society, the information itself has a very important economic value. Information not only has a much broader scope than at any other time in history, but it is also a key factor in the performance of businesses and companies.

Importance of the consumer

Consumers are fundamental elements within these societies. Citizens have become active consumers of information and, therefore, a constant production of it is required to satisfy their needs.

This information makes the consumer decide which technological product to buy, which restaurant to visit or even what type of clothing to buy.

Economic infrastructure

The economy is structured specifically so that information itself is distributed and circulated. This is closely related to the influence that information has within the economic sphere of a society.

Advantage

Easy access to information

In the information society, almost everyone has the ability to easily access any type of information they seek, investing little or no money to achieve it.

This is largely due to the technological growth of humanity. The wide availability of all kinds of technology means that, in one way or another, people can buy electronic devices that allow them access to the Internet, the largest source of information in the world.

Improvements to the economy

The Information Age has allowed the economy to develop much more effectively than at any other point in human history.

Information technologies allow a much more efficient organization of the distribution of costs and expenses of a company, without requiring more than a transcription of invoices.

This facility to improve the economy has been the exponent of the growth of industries worldwide from the end of the 20th century to the present day.

Increase in "intangible" products

For the first time in the history of humanity, a large amount of information has begun to be generated, compared to that produced just a century ago.

This is not only due to the easy access that technology now has, but also to the new value obtained by information as an economic resource.

Disadvantages

Increase in economic controls

Technology has led to the establishment of new regulations and the emergence of a capitalism in the world arena, which is under the control of powerful institutions that use cyberspace as a global communication medium.

This has created a competitive mindset that is not always positive for society.

Emergence of a cumulative regime

According to the theories of the neo-Marxists, the emergence of the information society has given rise to a cumulative economic system, which in turn increases poverty and unemployment thanks to the decrease in salaries and the little need to hire labor industrial.

Detachment from traditional society

The creation of a technology-dependent society creates a wrong notion about the current state of society.

While the use of technology is now a common factor, people are still just as capable as they were a century ago, only now knowledge is more easily accessible.

References

1. Information Society, A Dictionary of Sociology, 1998. Taken from encyclopedia.com
2. Information Society, M. Rouse, 2005. Taken from techtarget.com
3. What is Information Society ?, F. Webster, Published in 2010. Tandfonline.com
4. Characteristics of Information Society, E. Cummins, (nd). Taken from study.com
5. Information Society, Wikipedia in English, 2018. Taken from wikipedia.org