Information Society

The information revolution and the applications of information and communication technologies are fundamental in conceptualising information society. The concept of the information society is defined through various perspectives. The key features of this 'society' are outlined in various academic writings, seminars, conferences, policy documents of government and several regional, international and global organisations. For example, the European Union High-Level Expert Group report of 1997, defines information society as:

The society that is currently being put in place, where low-cost information and data storage and transmission technologies are in general use. The generalisation of information and data use is being accompanied by organisational, commercial, social and legal innovations that will profoundly change life both in the world of work and in society generally (Nassimberi 1998: 154).

Information society refers to a situation where information and communication technologies are integrated in industrial production and information dissemination in all fields. Technology instigates a new approach to the production, distribution and consumption of information. Information society refers to a situation where information becomes a source of income generation; where employment is found mostly in the information sector. Furthermore, information society embodies the utilisation of this information in the creation of knowledge.

Webster (1997: 1) comments that the information society is noted in:

The emergence in recent years of an apparently new way of conceiving contemporary societies. Commentators have increasingly begun to talk about 'information' as a defining feature of the modern world. Much attention is now devoted to the 'informatisation' of social life.

Dennis McQuail (1997: 87) states that in the information society, "information work predominates, and information is the most valuable resource". He further notes that the characteristic of information society is an exponential increase in the production and flow of information of all kinds. One of the most explicit definitions of information society is the one offered by the Finland's Council of State. Information society is seen as a:

society which makes extensive use of information networks (meaning systems of IT hardware and services which provide users with delivery and retrieval services in a given area, e.g. electronic mail, directories and video services) and IT (information technology meaning the hardware, software and methods used for the automatic processing and transfer of data, and skills needed to use them), produces large quantities of information and communication products and services, and has a diversified content industry (Nassimbeni, 1998: 154).

Based on our explanation of the concept of information society, we can identify various cogent points that characterise the 'information society' as enumerated by Nassimbeni (1998):

• The importance of information and the creation of knowledge,
• The prominence of the role of IT in the production and dissemination of information,
• The use of information networks for the distribution of information;
• The radical changes in people's lives as a result of increasing integration of information and communication technologies (ICTs) into all spheres of public and private lives; and
• The necessity for citizens to be trained in new skills to allow them benefit from the access to a massively expanding store of information

Webster (1997) provides a seminal approach to understanding the concept of information society. He provides five analytical criteria in defining the information society. These are: technological; economic; occupational; spatial and cultural.

Technological Definition

The technological definition of the information society highlights the huge innovations in technology. The key innovations being technological advancements in information creation, processing, storage and transmission that have impacted the application of information and communication technologies in every sphere of society. Some of these technologies include computer technology and telecommunications technologies, which have revolutionised the socio-economic milieus of modern society.

Economic Definition

The economic approach defines the 'information society' by attempting to analyse the information industries in statistical terms. This approach looks at the role of the information industries and traces their contribution to the Gross National Produce (GNP) and the economic viability of a nation. Five broad information industry groups are identified:

(a) Education (e.g. schools, libraries and colleges)
(b) Media of Communication (eg. radio and television, advertising);
(c) Information machine (e.g computer equipment, musical instruments);
(d) Information services (e.g law, insurance, medicine)
(e) Other information activities (e.g research and development, non-profit activities).

Working with these different categories and groups, Webster (1997: 11) suggests

it is possible to ascribe an economic value to each and trace its contribution to gross national produce (GNP). If the trend is for these to account for an increased proportion of GNP, then one may claim to chart the emergence through time of an information economy.

Occupational Definitions

This measure highlights occupational change as a basis for a new form of society. The point here is that there is an emergence of the information society when the preponderance of occupation is found in information work. The contention is that:

It appears obvious that as work which demands physical strength and manual dexterity such as hewing coal and farming the land declines to be replaced by more and more manipulation of figures and text such as in education and large bureaucracies, we are entering a new type of society (Webster, 1997: 14).

Spatial Definition

The spatial approach to the concept of information society emphasises the role and importance of information networks, which connect locations and consequently impact on the organisation of time and space. The effects of these networks and the reordering of time and space can be seen in four interrelated elements in the transition to an 'information society':

1. Information comes to occupy centre stage as the 'key strategic resource' on which the organisation of the world economy is dependent.
2. Computer and communications technologies provide the infrastructure which enable information to be processed and distributed
3. There has been a rapid growth of the 'tradeable information sector' of the economy in services such as the new media (satellite broadcasting, cable, video) and online databases
4. The growing 'informatisation' of the economy is facilitating the integration of national and regional economies.

Cultural Definition

The cultural approach points to the extraordinary increase in information in social circulation and how it affects the pattern of our everyday lives. Webster (1997: 22) notes that:

Contemporary culture is manifestly more heavily information laden than any of its predecessors. We exist in a media-saturated environment, which means that life is quintessentially about symbolisation, about exchanging and receiving - or trying to exchange and resisting reception - messages about ourselves and others. It is in acknowledgement of this explosion of signification that many writers conceive of our having entered an information society.