The Information Age was one of the most exciting periods in the world’s history due to the impacts and changes it brought to the human lifestyle. According to Gutwirth(2002), the information age, which was also known as the Digital Age was experienced in the early 1970s. The period was realized as a result of the industrial revolution that saw people transitioning to new manufacturing techniques. The industrial revolution led to the rapid growth of manufacturing companies in Europe, Asia, South America, and North America; the Information Age was discovered as a result of advanced manufacturing techniques. As more people were venturing into production in various industries, there was also a need to modernize information and communication processes. The Information Age is one of the periods that interests me due to its enhancement of information and communication technology such as the introduction of the internet whose benefits is still evident in the modern world.

The establishment of the Internet is one of the greatest achievements during the Information Age that has benefited humans in different ways. Before the introduction of the Internet, it was quite challenging for individuals or states to get in touch with people from other geographical locations. J.C.R. Licklider, an American Scientist, initiated the quest to develop the internet while working at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in August 1962 (Leiner et al., 2009). In his concept “Galactic Network,” he envisioned that computers could be interconnected globally to enable people around the world to access and share data. He later joined Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in October 1962, where he continued working on his networking concept, which gave rise to the development of ARPANET concept in 1967 (Leiner et al., 2009). In the following years, various events lead to the launch of the internet for public use on January 1, 1983 (Waring, 2018). The development of the internet became the turning point of information and communication.

During the Information Era, after the establishment of the internet, various technological and communication concepts started emerging, which improved different sectors of the world’s economy such as banking, transportation, agriculture, health care, and military. Furthermore, social interactions saw a significant boost due to the introduction of various communication channels such as telephones and electronic messaging platforms. The transition from traditional modes of communication to modern technology, which was initiated during the Information Era is associated with various benefits. However, in comparison of the Information Age and modern society, there are distinctive communication features that propel my curiosity. Even though information and communication in the Informative Age were more advanced than the previous eras, they cannot be compared to the current technology. For instance, during the Information Age, social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and WhatsApp had not been established. Therefore, my interest in the Information Era is to determine how youths embraced communication technology during that period compared to their current addition of the social media platforms.

My interest in the Information Age is attributed to the establishment of the internet, which was the turning point of information and communication technology. Through the internet, communication was enhanced, which benefited not only social interactions but also profited different factors of the world’s economy. Furthermore, it was a period of advancement that supported the Industrial Revolution, which saw people transitioning to new manufacturing techniques across the globe. Therefore, if I could be in a position to time travel, I would travel to the Information Age to witness the evolution of technology from the simple concepts of ARPANET to the launching of the internet and its initial usage.

References

Gutwirth, S. (2002). Privacy and the Information Age.Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield

Leiner, B. M., Cerf, V. G., Clark, D. D., Kahn, R. E., Kleinrock, L., Lynch, D. C., … & Wolff, S.

(2009). A brief history of the Internet. ACM SIGCOMM Computer Communication Review, 39(5), 22-31.

Waring, O. (2018, March 22). When was the internet invented?Metro News. Retrieved from

https://metro.co.uk/2018/03/22/when-was-the-internet-invented-7408002/.

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