The Information Age That We Live In

The past 50 years has brought about what many sociologists call the Age of Information. Much as in the Industrial Age which brought about a massive rise in industry (as well as carbon emissions), the information age has brought about massive changes in the ways we communicate and information is seen.

In the 1950s we saw the rise of televisions in many households and families would gather around them after school, work and dinner for entertainment and family time, whereas pre-television the family would do the same thing, except it was around a radio instead. As human technology has evolved, so has our knowledge. Today with the access of nearly infinite amounts of information at our fingertips provided by the internet, there only remains the dark corners of government and private service that leave us in the dark.

The big question is if people are truly utilizing technology to its fullest? With the access of the internet all around us on smart phones and other wireless comforts, do people really have any excuse to say they do not know certain aspects of history – or any topic for that matter? As a singularity we can only know so much at any given time, but the majority of the population is walking around with the collective human brain in their pocket and it is so sad to see it being wasted on mindless text messages. When you see someone looking down at their phone on the train, it is not likely they are reading about socioeconomics or studying a foreign language, they are most likely planning on what bar to go spend their money at later.

It is not the technology which makes the information age so great, it is the potential it gives us humans should we ever choose to fully utilize it for solidarity and growth. When you really think about it, text messaging is paving the way for a higher human intelligence, essentially in a few hundred years; text messaging will be obsolete due to telepathy acquired through evolution.

Probably one of the worst aspects of the rise in technology is the competition. Ultimately the free market should drive prices down as companies fight for the best quality product. In reality I see this as a horrendous form of share cropping which is only driving prices up, as companies battle not for who has the best product, but who gets the majority share of profits on the market. If these companies in completion should ever come together to form affordable technology to be utilized by all people, then we can really start reaping some benefits. The bottom line which must be said is that smartphones are only as smart as the people using them.