The concept of
‘Information Society’ emerged during the 1970s
and through out
the 1980s and rapidly gained popularity and currency, its 0proponents ranging
from scholars and academic authors to popular writers.
Prominent among
the first group of writers were Masuda, who in the Japanese context, perceived
an eventual transition of the society to the point at which the production
of information values became the driving force for the development of the
society.
The second writer
belonging to this group was Tom Stonier, who perceived the dawning of a new
age for Western Society. He draws explicit parallels and contrasts between
industrial and information societies.
Although not very
comfortable with the term ‘Information Society’, Daniel Bell did much to
sustain it through his work on post-industrial society.
Daniel Bell, the
classical exponent of post-industrialism, also theorised the ‘Information
Society’ (Bell 1980).
Alvin
Toffler and John Naisbitt have done much to popularise the concept of
‘Information Society’.
Naisbitt
contended that the United States made the transition from an industrial to an
information society as early as 1960s and 1970s, and that in this process the
computer played a significant role.
On
the other hand, Toffler talked of an information
bomb exploding in our midst and a power shift in society, which will
make it depend on knowledge.
According
to Branscomb Information Society is “a society where the majority of people are
engaged in creating, gathering, storage, processing or distribution of information
Attributes
of an Information Society are:
i] shift from an industrial economy to an
information economy.
That is to say that in industrial economy
capital is the strategic
resource,
while in Information Economy information becomes the
strategic
resource;
ii] a telecommunication based information
service infrastructure;
iii] a high degree computerization, large
volumes of electronic
data
transmission and employment of IT;
iv] characterised by the fact that the rapid
and convenient
delivery
of needed information is the ordinary state of affairs.
Source: IGNOU STUDY MATERIAL