Lesson 11: THE INFORMATION AGE

Learning outcomes:

• discuss Information Age;

• outline the history of Information Age;
• spot truthful news from fake news;
• explain instances of cyberbullying; and
• cite the importance of Information Age in various aspects of the society

No. of Hours to complete : 3 Hours

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Introduction:I

Our society nowadays can be described as technologically advanced,

data-driven, fast paced, and modern. Information is easily accessed and shared.
Various areas of our society are continuously being influenced by this very fast
pace of modernization. We can clearly see and experience how the economy,
industry, business, transportation, education, health, and environment are being
transformed because of digital age.

This rapid development and progression of digital age poses some

disadvantages. Sometimes people are easily misinformed and deceived because
of fake news or false information from various social media platforms. It is essential
that one has to filter the information available before believing, sharing, and
utilizing such information.
.

ABSTRACTION:

The Information Age is believed to have started in the last quarter of the
20th century and it is characterized by rapid, effortless access, and management
of information through written or digital publications with the use of computers and
computer networks. There is rapid evolution and advancement in the way by which
humans convey message, information, and emotions through writing, painting,
coding, and others. Because the Information Age can be closely linked with the
development and application of computers in various aspects of the society, it is
also referred to as the Digital Age and the New Media Age.

As man evolved, information and its dissemination has also evolved in

many ways eventually. We no longer keep them to ourselves; instead, we share
them and manage them in different means. Information gets ahead of us. It started
to grow at a rate where we were incapable to handle. Because of the abundance
of information, it was difficult to collect and manage them starting in the late 1960s
and early 1970s. During the 1980s, real angst set in. Richard Wurman called it
"Information Anxiety." In the 1990s, information became the currency in the
business world. Information was the preferred medium of exchange and the
information managers served as information officers.

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The Ages of History of Information Age

1. Pre-mechanical
The premechanical age is the earliest age of information technology. It can be
defined as the time between 3000B.C. and 1450A.D. We are talking about a long
time ago. When humans first started communicating they would try to use language
or simple picture drawings known as petroglyths which were usually carved in rock.
Early alphabets were developed such as the Phoenician alphabet.

Petroglyph
As alphabets became more popluar and more people were writing
information down, pens and paper began to be developed. It started off as just marks
in wet clay, but later paper was created out of papyrus plant. The most popular kind
of paper made was probably by the Chinese who made paper from rags.
Now that people were writing a lot of information down they needed ways to
keep it all in permanent storage. This is where the first books and libraries are
developed. You’ve probably heard of Egyptian scrolls which were popular ways of
writing down information to save. Some groups of people were actually binding
paper together into a book-like form.
Also during this period were the first numbering systems. Around 100A.D.
was when the first 1-9 system was created by people from India. However, it wasn’t
until 875A.D. (775 years later) that the number 0 was invented. And yes now that
numbers were created, people wanted stuff to do with them so they created
calculators. A calculator was the very first sign of an information processor. The
popular model of that time was the abacus.

2. Mechanical

The mechanical age is when we first start to see connections between our
current technology and its ancestors. The mechanical age can be defined as the
time between 1450 and 1840. A lot of new technologies are developed in this era
as there is a large explosion in interest with this area. Technologies like the slide
rule (an analog computer used for multiplying and dividing) were invented. Blaise
Pascal invented the Pascaline which was a very popular mechanical computer.

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Charles Babbage developed the difference engine which tabulated polynomial
equations using the method of finite differences.

Difference Engine
There were lots of different machines created during this era and while we
have not yet gottent to a machine that can do more than one type of calculation in
one, like our modern-day calculators, we are still learning about how all of our all-in-
one machines started. Also, if you look at the size of the machines invented in this
time compared to the power behind them it seems (to us) absolutely ridiculous to
understand why anybody would want to use them, but to the people living in that
time ALL of thse inventions were HUGE.

3. Electromechanical

Now we are finally getting close to some technologies that resemble our modern-
day technology. The electromechanical age can be defined as the time between
1840 and 1940. These are the beginnings of telecommunication. The telegraph
was created in the early 1800s. Morse code was created by Samuel Morse in
1835. The telephone (one of the most popular forms of communication ever)
was created by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876. The first radio developed by
Guglielmo Marconi in 1894. All of these were extremely crucial emerging
technologies that led to big advances in the information technology field.
The first large-scale automatic digital computer in the United States was the Mark 1
created by Harvard University around 1940. This computer was 8ft high, 50ft long,
2ft wide, and weighed 5 tons - HUGE. It was programmed using punch cards. How
does your PC match up to this hunk of metal? It was from huge machines like this
that people began to look at downsizing all the parts to first make them usable by
businesses and eventually in your own home.

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Harvard Mark 1

4. Electronic

The electronic age is what we currently live in. It can be defined as the
time between 1940 and right now. The Electronic Numerical Integrator and
Computer (ENIAC) was the first high-speed, digital computer capable of being
reprogrammed to solve a full range of computing problems. This computer was
designed to be used by the U.S. Army for artillery firing tables. This machine was
even bigger than the Mark 1 taking up 680 square feet and weighing 30 tons -
HUGE. It mainly used vacuum tubes to do its calculations.
There are 4 main sections of digital computing. The first was the era
of vacuum tubes and punch cards like the ENIAC and Mark 1. Rotating magnetic
drums were used for internal storage. The second generation replaced vacuum
tubes with transistors, punch cards were replaced with magnetic tape, and rotating
magnetic drums were replaced by magnetic cores for internal storage. Also during
this time high-level programming languages were created such as FORTRAN and
COBOL. The third generation replaced transistors with integrated circuits,
magnetic tape was used throughout all computers, and magnetic core turned into
metal oxide semiconductors. An actual operating system showed up around this
time along with the advanced programming language BASIC. The fourth and latest
generation brought in CPUs (central processing units) which contained memory,
logic, and control circuits all on a single chip. The personal computer was developed
(Apple II). The graphical user interface (GUI) was developed.

Apple 2

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https://openbookproject.net/courses/intro2ict/history/history.html
History of Information Technology-Open Book Project-Retrieved September 30, 2022

In the present generation, there is no doubt that information has turned out
to be a commodity, an overdeveloped product, mass-produced, and unspecialized.
Soon, we became overloaded with it. Different authors have diverse, contrasting
ideas on the evolution of the Information Age. In spite of this, we can still say that
information is a very important tool that helps improve our way of life. One thing is
for sure, the Information Age will continue to move forward and far greater our
minds could imagine.

Because of Information Age, several fields or disciplines have merged.

Among these fields include Al or Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning,
Robotics, Cloud and Edge Computing, Automation, Blockchain, Outsourcing,
Software and Applications, and Communications and Networking among others.
With these, cybersecurity and data privacy laws have also been implemented to
protect one's digital self.

Science and Information Age

Like how Information Age gradually transformed our workplace, it also

affected the scientific community. With the availability of computers and the
internet, vast amount of information is readily available in just a click.

Some experiments can now be performed digitally by employing automated

experimental techniques. Before, it is so painstaking to actually collect and process
data due to size and technical difficulty. Nowadays, because of bioinformatics,
scientists apply the principles of computer science and statistical algorithms to
store, process, and analyze extensive collection of data (Kantardjieff K. and Ng
Thow Hing M. 2012).

Furthermore, researchers and scientists can now easily share their

experimental results and recommendations, access and store information with the
use of internet. Indeed, technological capabilities have advanced rapidly than our
ability to comprehend and utilize them maximally.

The availability of wide range of information at hand also entails the call for
responsible. generation of information and proper citation and recognition of
authors and publishers.

Information Age and Cyberbullying

Words are so powerful that they can either make or break people and
relationships. Words spoken, written, and shared or posted through the social

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media sites can strengthen, inspire, offend, and hurt other people who read them.

It is undeniable that our social media has shaped recent events. It does not
only update us of current events but can also provoke us. We often see posts and
commentaries that are meant to embarrass, offend, criticize, or threaten people.

Indeed, such acts have legal implications under Philippine laws. It is but
proper to visit the laws governing rights of people against cyberbullying.

Let us pause and reflect...

What are your insights on cyberbullying? Have you experienced it or do

you know someone being offended by or threatened through an online post?
When? What can you suggest to others in order to prevent or at least minimize
cases of cyberbullying? How can we become responsible users of different social
media platforms? Use the space below for sharing your ideas.

The Emergence of Fake News

If truthful news is available, so does fake news. This fake news continues to
circulate throughout various forms of print and nonprint media. Pew Research
Center showed that for people under 30, online news is becoming more popular
than TV news while those people under 50 get half of their news online and the
rest on TV.

Fake news is becoming viral because there are more and more people being
involved in disseminating them. Sometimes it is easier and more convenient for
people to share the fake news than to actually go over the information and evaluate
for its reliability.

One more factor that contributes to rapid dissemination of fake news is

confirmation bias. People tend to accept information that confirms their beliefs and
opinions. It is a sense of pleasure to share information they believe in even if it
may not actually be truthful or valid.

How to Spot Fake News?

Fake news tends to spread as fast as contagious diseases are. So, it is

just necessary to be guided and guarded from the ignorance and further damage
that can be brought about by misinformation.

The following practical tips from Nagler, C. (2017) of Harvard Division of

Continuing Education can help us spot a fake news.

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1. Vet the publisher's credibility.

Try to consider these questions whenever we see an article that captures

our attention
• Would the publishing site meet the academic citation standards?
• What is the domain name?
• What is the publication's point of view?
• Who is the author?

2. Pay attention to quality and timeliness.

Notice spelling errors and dramatic punctuations from the article. Check if
the story is current or recycled.

3. Check the sources and citations.

• How did you find the article?

• Who is (or is not) quoted, and what do they say?
• Is the information available on other sites?
• Can you perform reverse researches and images?

A reliable article is usually quoted or posted on other websites. Library

databases can be used for confirming the credibility of information presented in an
article. Also by checking cited sources, you can confirm that the information
presented has been accurately applied and not modified to satisfy the author's
point of view. Images should also be taken into consideration especially if they
seem edited just to conform to the concept suggested in the article or story.

Let us pause and reflect...

Have you encountered reading or hearing fake news? When? How did
you find out it is fake? What was your reaction? Share your experiences in the
blanks provided below.

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REFERENCES:

Eden Joy Pastor Alata, Mark Joseph Tumada Calano, Greg Tabios Pawilen, 2021 Edition,
A Course Module for Science, Technology and Society, Published by Rex Book
Store, Inc

History of Information Technology-Open Book Project-Retrieved September 30,

2022.https://openbookproject.net/courses/intro2ict/history/history.html

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