Progress of the information society
Societies change what most people work at.
- Farming society: most people grow food.
- Industrial society: most people make goods in factories.
- Information society: most people work with information: writing software, teaching, banking, designing, running online services.
What made this possible? Cheap computers, fast networks (the Internet) and smartphones. Information can now be copied and sent almost for free, anywhere, in seconds.
The information industry is the set of businesses that make, store, carry or sell information and the tools for it: software, telecom, data centres, media, online shops.
Problem solving in the information society
With so much information, we need a clear way to solve problems.
- Find the problem: write it in one clear sentence.
- Collect data: surveys, sensors, records. Use trusted sources.
- Analyse: sort, count, make charts, look for patterns.
- Decide and act: choose a solution.
- Check: did it work? If not, go round again.
Example: a school wants to cut electricity use. It reads meter data, finds the computer lab is the top user, switches off idle machines, and checks next month's bill.
Take care: data can be wrong, old or biased. Always ask where it came from.
Future of the information society and information industry
Trends we can already see:
- More connected things (Internet of Things): watches, cars, meters.
- Artificial intelligence that finds patterns in large data.
- New jobs: data analysts, app makers, cyber-safety experts. Some old jobs change or go.
- Risks: privacy loss, fake news, online fraud, and a digital divide between people who have access and those who do not.
To live well in this future we need skills (digital literacy), care (safe habits and honesty) and fair access for all.
Key formulas and definitions
- Farming → Factory → Information: the main work changes
- Problem solving = find → collect data → analyse → decide → check
- Information industry = software + networks + data + media + online services
- Benefits and risks must be balanced: privacy, fairness, access
Worked examples
1. Is a call centre that answers customer questions part of the information industry? Why?
Yes. Its main product is handling information (answers, records, requests) using phones and computers.
2. A shop owner finds sales are falling. Use the four steps to plan.
Problem: sales have fallen 20 percent. Data: weekly sales by product. Analyse: sweets fell, others did not. Decide: fresh stock and a small offer on sweets. Check next month's sales.
3. Name two benefits and two risks of an information society.
Benefits: fast learning and services, new jobs. Risks: loss of privacy, fake news (or the digital divide).
4. What does 'digital divide' mean?
The gap between people who have devices, internet and skills and people who do not.
Common mistakes
- Thinking the information society has no farms or factories. They still exist; information just became the main driver.
- Trusting any data. Check the source, date and method.
- Skipping the 'check' step in problem solving.
- Counting only benefits and forgetting privacy and fairness.