In the XXI century, information and technological processes gain great importance. Human activities depend on the ability to perceive and possess data. A specialist in any industry should be able to process information flows using various means of communication. It is the information level that determines the degree of development of the state. Its industry provides users with all the necessary products and services.
But in some periods of history, discrepancies arise between the intellectual abilities of mankind and the irresistible flow of knowledge. A person becomes unable to process incoming data, an information crisis sets in. About what it is and when it arises, we will go further.
Social processes
The information economy is developing rapidly. Human society is embarking on a new stage in its evolution - the informational one. The share of the information economy in advanced countries is 40-60% of working time, and it is constantly growing.
Society is gradually moving to the post-industrial, and then to the information phase. The criterion of these processes is the number of people employed in the service industry:
- if more than half of the population works in the service area, then society has entered the post-industrial stage of evolution;
- if more than half of the population is engaged in information services, the type of society is considered informational.
Researchers believe that the United States moved to the post-industrial stage in 1956, and to the informational stage in 1974. The masterpieces of this and many other countries in the field of informatization are explained by the phenomenon of "ecological colonialism", that is, the transfer of production to other countries.
Over the past centuries, the volume of knowledge acquired by mankind is rapidly multiplying, and this dynamics is steadily increasing. At the end of the 20th century, the scale of information increased 30 times compared to previous periods. A similar phenomenon is called the "information explosion."
The process of evolution of society
An information explosion takes place in combination with other processes that indicate that the information age is beginning. Among them are:
- reduction of time for doubling the amount of knowledge;
- increase in material costs for processes related to information, in contrast to the same costs for the energy industry;
- the emergence of the opportunity to see humanity from space.
A similar concept of social evolution was developed by Western scientists. Domestic researchers turned to theory later. This was explained by the negative attitude of communist society towards other types of ideologies.
The process of social informatization includes:
- mediation - improving methods for finding and transmitting information;
- computerization - updating information processing methods;
- intellectualization - raising the intellectual level of society.
The phenomenon accompanies democratization, merges with the processes of intellectualization, enhancing the creative resource of mankind. What is the information crisis? We will discuss this later.
The turning points of evolution
The information crisis is a phenomenon that has actively manifested itself with the onset of the 20th century. It lies in the fact that the floods of information that flowed onto a person were so significant that processing turned out to be impracticable. The crisis affects research, the work of the technical industry, and socio-political life.
The increase in knowledge occurs with a rapid increase in speed. If at the beginning of the XX century the doubling of knowledge occurred once every 50 years, in the 70s it was recorded every five years, and the process of acceleration does not stop.
Manifestation
The information crisis manifests itself in different ways. Scientific publications in various fields of knowledge are printed in large quantities, but access to their reading is sometimes difficult. As a result, specialists are not able to navigate in scientific publications, which leads to duplication of works and other negative aspects.
Sometimes creating a technical model is much easier than finding documentation about it.
Political leaders who do not own this or that information can get into an unpleasant situation with dangerous consequences. Of course, not everything depends on awareness, but it also plays an important role.
As a result, an information crisis sets in, the manifestation of which is as follows:
- the flow of knowledge exceeds the ability of a person to accept and process it;
- a large amount of unnecessary information is created that impedes the adoption of the necessary;
- various barriers to the dissemination of knowledge appear.
Causes
Scientists name the various causes of the information crisis. Among them, it is customary to single out general and specific. Common include:
- any evolutionary processes over time exhaust themselves;
- scientific value over time is replaced by something else.
The specific causes of the crisis can be expressed as follows:
- inaccessibility of the necessary information for scientific development;
- deficiencies in the collection and processing of information in various fields of human activity;
- the impossibility of finding information for small organizations;
- commercialization of the information sphere;
- waste of money in disseminating information.
Exit
Overcoming the information crisis is partly possible as a result of the use of new technologies. The emergence of new methods of dissemination, processing of information reduces the barriers to access to them. Of course, only technology will not solve the problem, because it affects the economic and legal spheres - information has value and owner. The crisis is a complex phenomenon, and therefore it can be resolved as a result of the joint approach of the leaders of one country and the world community.
A way out of it is possible as a result of the informatization of society. What is meant by this concept, we have already considered earlier.
Major revolutions
In the process of human evolution, several major information revolutions are known:
- the first is due to the appearance of writing;
- the second, in the 16th century, was due to the advent of typography;
- the third, at the end of the XIX century, is associated with the creation of electricity and the advent of radio and telephone;
- the fourth, in the middle of the 20th century, is explained by the advent of a computer and various telecommunications facilities;
- the fifth is connected with the integration of information processes around the world, with the advent of the Internet.
Important events
In the postwar period, stagnation in the economy took place. These were the crises of 1974-1975, as well as 1980-1982. Events covered all developed countries. Production fell, unemployment began to rise.
The world of capitalism has gone into crises unnoticed. A glut of food reigned in the domestic market.
In addition to the economic crisis, the energy one has come. Arab countries have raised oil prices. Energy and raw materials have become expensive. A transition to an intensive type of production was required, thanks to which it would be possible to save energy and materials, as well as reduce various costs.
Such a transition required new technical means and techniques. As a result, the third technological revolution began, thanks to which two centuries of industrial society development ended.
The crises of 1970-1980, the formation of the information society at the end of the 20th century played an important role. Let us consider these events in more detail.
The crisis of the 70s was expressed in the fact that the efficiency of information exchange has decreased. This was manifested in the fact that:
- the volume of publications has increased;
- communication process of specialists from different fields was difficult;
- increased knowledge that has not been published;
- there was a problem of interlanguage communication in the world.
A significant step towards overcoming this negative phenomenon was the emergence of a microprocessor in 1971.
Result of social processes
What did the crises of 1970-1980 lead to? The formation of the information society was the result of previous events. Experts call several features inherent in such a society:
- there was a resolution of the information crisis, that is, the discrepancy between the impressive scale of information and hunger was overcome;
- information flow is a priority over other resources;
- the main form of development of society is the information economy;
- the foundation of society is information technology, capturing all areas of human life;
- one information space is being created for the whole world, and each person has access to his resources.
These are the main positive points.
So, we examined the crises of 1970-1980, the formation of the information society and its characteristics.