Information society as a new social formation. Information Society as a Sociological Concept What Was Before the Information Society

A.K. Nesterov Information Society // Encyclopedia of the Nesterovs

The formation and development of the information society has a global character, while the main features and features of the information society were formed in the first decade of the 21st century. To a large extent, this process contributes to the emergence of new economic incentives, points of growth, the development of social structure, and the intensification of intercultural interaction.

Information Society Concept

It is logical that information is the foundation of the information society. Conceptually, information is already an independent value, in many cases it can be evaluated, acquired, which puts it on the same level with material values ​​and energy. In some cases, information becomes one of the resources for the functioning of enterprises, organizations, a factor of progress.

The main factor for creating complex conditions for the development of the information society was the emergence of the Internet, which made it possible to form a single world information and communication environment and a common cyberspace.

The information society is a phase in the development of human civilization, in which the value, role and significance of information and knowledge are sharply increasing.

The concept of an information society presents it as a special nature of a superstructure over a modern social structure, when information, knowledge and information technologies are intensively penetrating and being introduced into all spheres of society.

Modern information society

The modern information society has the following features:

1. Enhancing the role of information and knowledge in the life of society.
2. Intensive development of information technology and communications.
3. Increase in the share of products of the information technology sector in the structure of GDP.
4. The existence of the world information space.
5. Effective communication between people and social groups.
6. Improving access to information.
7. The existence of a variety of information products and services.

The modern information society is characterized by the following aspects.

First, the role of information and knowledge in the life of society continues to increase, while the information saturation of the economic, economic, financial, managerial, commercial, and industrial spheres of activity also increases significantly. For many spheres of activity, information and knowledge are becoming the most important resource for socio-economic development. Similarly, new points of economic growth are associated exclusively with information, knowledge, their implementation and implementation in traditional areas.

Secondly, the information technology industry forms a special sector of the economy, which is one of the most dynamic and rapidly developing.

Thirdly, information, information services, individual knowledge are the subject of consumption, they can be purchased, sold, transferred for temporary use. At the same time, in a number of cases, stable market structures have already emerged, for example, information and communication technologies, telecommunications and the sector for servicing these markets.

Fourthly, the models of social, economic, managerial, financial, industrial organization are partially transformed, become wider, and increase their flexibility due to the use of information technologies.

The main tendency is that the role of information is consistently growing, the search for new knowledge is intensifying. Information and knowledge are important factors in production and economic growth. Economic success is increasingly driven by information availability, innovation and continuous development.

Development of the information society

There are 3 stages in the development of the information society:

1. 1950-1980 - The emergence of a close relationship between science, technical development and production. A sharp increase in the dynamics of production, the formation of prerequisites for the emergence of modern science-intensive technologies.
2. 1980-2000 - Globalization of socio-economic relations, intensification of international relations and complication of world economic processes. Reducing the number of purely local socio-economic events and processes.
3. 2000-2020 - Significant complication of all spheres of human activity, the formation of a complex world economic system. Simultaneous strengthening of integration processes in the economic sphere, aspirations of individual states to preserve their economic, political and cultural sovereignty. The emergence of new integration unions: BRICS, EAEU, SCO.

The modern and further development of the information society is associated with the creation and implementation of new information and communication technologies in all spheres of human activity. All this will require a serious and profound restructuring of modern society.

The main directions of development of the information society:

• Electronic commerce
• Telemedicine
• Distance education
• Robotization
• Digital economy
• Electronic services
• Remote receipt of public services

The development of the information society at its current level is determined by the increased requirements for adaptation to sharply increased rates of changes in the economy, production, technologies, etc. The consequence of this is the simultaneous strengthening of integration trends at the local, national and international levels, while the trends towards sovereignty and self-sufficiency at the same levels are growing.

The development of the information society is a set of processes that affect the change in the state structure, society, economic system, technology, production and life of individuals in the context of increasing the role of information and knowledge.

The development of the information society, having a significant potential for improving the quality of life of the entire human community and each individual, expands opportunities for individuals and entrepreneurs, forms the preconditions for further increasing production efficiency, saving resources and focuses on an innovative type of development. This is associated with the possibility of access to the information resources of human civilization for literally every person, as well as the possibility of communication between very distant points of our planet.

Information Society in the Russian Federation

The main areas in which the most obvious development of the information society is taking place in the Russian Federation:

1. Remote receipt of public services. This includes most of the government services that can be obtained through the site https://www.gosuslugi.ru
2. Distance learning. Including through webinars, video lectures, broadcasts, lectures. Many universities have introduced a system for remote loading of completed work, remote passing of control sections of knowledge, remote accounting of progress. Distance learning is partly implemented in schools.
3. Finance and banks. All banks have Internet banks, client banks.
4. Social interaction. The most significant example is the distribution of electronic signatures for both legal entities and individuals.
5. Telemedicine. Electronic enrollment in a polyclinic, video conferences of specialist doctors, etc.
6. Remote work via the Internet.
7. Tax administration.
8. Interaction with executive authorities. Online reception of citizens' appeals.
9. Transportation. Electronic tickets for the plane, train. Taxi services (here you can already forget about "The city is inexpensive !!!" as a bad dream).
10. And many other areas.

Further development of the information society in the Russian Federation is associated with the construction of a digital economy and robotization. In turn, this imposes the following requirements on society:

• Increasing the requirements for professional qualifications.
• Increasing requirements for the level of education.
• Changes in the educational structure of society.
• Changing the nature of work.

At the moment, the prevalence of intellectual, qualified labor, requiring special skills and knowledge, in the social structure is already observed. Accordingly, getting an education is no longer sufficient; it is necessary to skillfully apply the acquired knowledge and use information.

The information society of the Russian Federation is also characterized by increased requirements for the production of services, especially those related to the receipt, retrieval, processing, storage, transformation and use of information.

The structure of the information society of the Russian Federation is shown in the figure.

The structure of the information society of the Russian Federation

Information Society Challenges

Let's list the main problems of the information society.

1. Globalization leads to the erosion of the national sovereignty of individual states, economic and political boundaries, which is aggravated by the formation of global conglomerates in the field of communications, production, information, etc.
2. The acceleration of the pace of industrialization and the intensification of interaction between different states leads not only to the mutual exchange of cultural achievements, but creates conditions for cultural aggression from a number of countries. Together with the unification of cultures, this exacerbates the danger of the loss of individual peoples of their cultural, national, linguistic originality, and also leads to the imposition of the cult of consumption on mankind, which meets only the interests of transnational corporations.
3. Increased globalization of the economy and production can adversely affect the state of the environment and policies for its protection.
4. There is an offensive (in the long term with complete destruction) of the right to work and social protection.
5. The widespread dissemination of the so-called "screen" or "reference" culture in the context of the inevitable collision of such a virtual culture with objective reality creates significant psychological and social problems for people.
6. With the growth of information, an increase in the amount of information received, it becomes more difficult for people to control its content and protect themselves from redundant information.
7. Opportunities for the free dissemination of information create threats to the transfer of information dangerous to society, and the problem of the security of personal data appears.

Separately, mention should be made of the problem of information inequality, when some people find themselves cut off from information, both for objective reasons and for subjective reasons. As a result, society is divided into those who use the information environment and those who do not. At the same time, many people, especially older generations, deliberately refer all information technologies to the exclusion zone and do not want to get involved with them. This may lead to the fact that in the relatively near future, such people may be left out of the social processes in general.

Are there internationally accepted definitions of the information society?

1. The question is posed very correctly, tk. In Russian literature, there are many non-conceptual uses of this term, everyday or purely author's interpretations that are not related to the established tradition of using the term in Western literature, where it was formulated.

In 1973, the famous American scientist D. Bell in the work “The Coming Post-Industrial Society. The experience of social forecasting ”put forward the concept of the transition of Western society, characterized as an“ industrial society ”, into the post-industrial stage, called the post-industrial society. Although Bell considered many of its features, which did appear after two decades, the term itself has not been deciphered. Just as the term "pre-industrial society" requires disclosure of its content (agrarian, traditional), post-industrial society is required to disclose its essence. The prefix "post" only indicates that this is a society that comes after the industrial, after it.

Back in 1972, the Japanese set the task of information development of their society, declared the need to make it informational. Before Bell's concept, this was simply a characteristic of a program to increase the role of information in society. But, taken together, they formed the concept of "information society", which defines the essence of post-industrial society as a society in which not industry, but information plays a decisive role. It is a society whose productivity is determined by the information sector more than by the manufacturing and service sectors. J. Nesbit called the transition to the information society one of the ten most important trends in the transformation of the West, and later the world as a whole. M. Kassel in the work “Information Society. Economy, Society, Culture ”examined the essence of the information revolution.

Currently, the importance of knowledge in the information sector has been highlighted, which has led to the spread of the terms "knowledge society", "knowledge economy". In accordance with these changes, the West, as a post-industrial society, has concentrated on the production of product models, and their material embodiment has largely moved to non-Western industrial countries, many of which are trying to master high technologies, including information and knowledge application technologies. However, they remain industrial societies. It should be clearly understood that the term "information society" is fully applicable only to Western societies.

Doctor of Philosophy, Prof., Head. Sector of Social Philosophy of the Institute of Philosophy of the Russian Academy of Sciences

V.G. Fedotova

2. There are many definitions of the information society, which are quite actively referred to by authors in different countries.

After the publication in 1983 of the book by I. Masuda, one of the authors of the "Plan for the Information Society" developed in Japan in the early 70s of the XX century, the early interpretations of the information society proposed by the Japanese became the subject of attention of the world scientific community. The invention of the term "information society" is attributed to professor at the Tokyo Institute of Technology Yuri Hayashi. The contours of the information society were outlined in reports submitted to the Japanese government in the late 1960s and early 1970s by organizations such as the Economic Planning Agency, the Institute for the Development and Use of Computers, and the Industrial Structure Council. The titles of the reports are indicative: "Japanese Information Society: Topics and Approaches" (1969), "Plan for the Information Society" (1971), "Contours of a Policy for Promoting the Informatization of Japanese Society" (1969). The information society was defined here as one where the process of computerization will give people access to reliable sources of information, relieve them of routine work, and provide a high level of production automation. At the same time, the production itself will also change - its product will become more "information-intensive", which means an increase in the share of innovation, design work and marketing in its value; the production of an information product, and not a material product, will be the driving force behind the education and development of society.

It should be noted that even earlier, in the 40s, the Australian economist A. Clark wrote about the perspective of the information and service society, and in the 50s the American economist F. Mahlup spoke about the onset of the information economy.

The Japanese version of the concept of the information society was developed, first of all, to solve the problems of economic development in Japan. This circumstance led to it in a sense, limited and applied. However, in the 70s, the idea of ​​an information society became popular in the United States and Western Europe and acquired the features of a universalist ideology.

American sociologist D. Bell, the author of the famous concept of post-industrial society, presented a version of the convergence of the ideas of post-industrialism and the information society in his 1980 book "The Social Framework of the Information Society." Bell's expression "information society" is a new name for post-industrial society, emphasizing not its position in the sequence of stages of social development - after an industrial society, but the basis for determining its social structure - information. Here, as in the book "The Coming Post-Industrial Society", primary importance is attached to the information included in the functioning of scientific knowledge and obtained through such knowledge. Bell's interpretation of the information society has all the main characteristics of a post-industrial society (service economy, the central role of theoretical knowledge, future orientation and the resulting technology management, the development of new intellectual technology). However, if in the "Coming Post-Industrial Society" electronic computing technology was considered as one of the high-tech industries and as a necessary tool for solving complex problems (using systems analysis and game theory), then in the "Social Framework of the Information Society" great importance is attached to the convergence of electronic computing technology with communication technology. “In the coming century,” D. Bell asserts here, “the formation of a new social order based on telecommunications will acquire a decisive importance for economic and social life, for the methods of production of knowledge, as well as for the nature of human labor activity”.

From the end of the 60s of the XX century to the present day, many interpretations of what an information society is have been proposed. With all the variety of accents, the degree of attention paid to certain technological, economic or social processes, the information society is considered within the framework of the basic concepts as having at least the following characteristics. First of all, it is a high level of development of computer technology, information and telecommunication technologies, the presence of a powerful information infrastructure. Hence - such an important feature of the information society as an increase in the possibilities of access to information for an ever wider circle of people. Finally, almost all concepts and programs for the development of the information society proceed from the fact that information and knowledge become in the information age a strategic resource of society, comparable in importance to natural, human and financial resources.

Within the framework of the ideology of the information society, already in the 70s, various directions and tendencies emerged, focusing attention on certain aspects of relations existing in society regarding information and technical and technological means of its transmission, storage and processing, considering various social prospects as possible , desirable or negative.

In the book by S. Nora and A. Mink “Computerization of society. Report to the President of France ”, the information society was characterized as a complex society in whose culture serious problems arise. The authors are confident that it is impossible to understand these problems in line with Bell's post-industrial approach (it is noteworthy that the English translation of the book was published with a foreword by D. Bell). This approach, they argue, allows us to see in the future only a "tranquilized" post-industrial society, where the abundance and convergence of living standards will unite the nation around a huge culturally homogeneous middle class and overcome social contradictions. The postindustrial approach is productive when it comes to the information that guides the behavior of producers and buyers, but is useless when confronted with problems outside the realm of business and dependent on the cultural model. The title of one of the chapters of the book by S. Nora and A. Mink is "Will a computerized society be a society of cultural conflicts?" Assuming that the information society will be less clearly socially structured and more polymorphic than an industrial society, the authors predict that one of the factors of polymorphism will be the attitude of various groups to the trend of language simplification, associated, not least, with the economy of databases and various forms of electronic -mediated communication. The information society, they predicted, will be a society of struggle for language between different groups.

The most influential sociological concepts, put forward in the initial period of the formation of the ideology of the information society, emphasized the value of scientific, theoretical knowledge and / or reliable information, predicted an increase in their role in society with the development of computer and telecommunication technologies. Subsequently, tendencies that emphasize the importance of unscientific information and connect the prospects for the formation of an information society with the “loss of scientific discourse of its privileged status” are intensifying. The position of M. Poster, an American sociologist who belongs to the French intellectual tradition of structuralism and poststructuralism, is indicative in this respect. From the point of view of this author, an adequate sociology of electronically-mediated communications is possible only if science is viewed as one of the types of discourse on an equal basis with others. Posters consider it wrong to interpret information as an economic entity and provide a theoretical basis for the distribution of commodity relations in the information sphere. The poster emphasizes that the ease of copying and distributing information destroys the legal system, the foundations of which were formed to protect private property in material things. He insists that in the era of convergence of computing and communications technology, it is impossible to adequately understand social relations without taking into account the changes in the structure of communication experience. It is noteworthy that M. Poster wrote about the possibilities of information modeling as “modeling oneself” in the late 1980s, when the Internet was not yet a daily routine for millions of people. In the nineties and zero, new cultural phenomena generated by the rapid development of information and communication technologies became the object of attention of many authors.

To use for the benefit of people the opportunities provided by modern information and communication technologies is the main pathos of official strategies and programs for the development of the information society, adopted by the governments of different countries, interstate associations, and regional authorities. The Okinawa Charter for the Global Information Society, adopted by the G8 leaders in the summer of 2000, states: “The information society, as we see it, allows people to better use their potential and realize their aspirations. To this end, we must ensure that IT [Information and Communication Technology] serves the complementary goals of sustaining economic growth, enhancing social welfare, fostering social cohesion and realizing their full potential in promoting democracy, transparent and responsible governance of international peace and stability. Achieving these goals and addressing emerging challenges will require the development of effective national and international strategies. ”

In the Declaration adopted by the participants in the World Summit on the Information Society in Geneva in 2003, the first section is titled “Our Common Vision for the Information Society”. It begins with these words: “We, the peoples of the world, gathered in Geneva on December 10-12, 2003 to host the first phase of the World Summit on the Information Society, declare our shared commitment and determination to build a people-centered, inclusive for all and a development-oriented information society in which everyone can create, access, use and share information and knowledge in order to enable individuals, communities and peoples to realize their full potential, contributing to their sustainable development and by enhancing their quality of life, based on the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and fully respecting and supporting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. "

The "Strategy for the Development of the Information Society in the Russian Federation" proclaims the goal of the formation and development of the information society "to improve the quality of life of citizens, to ensure the competitiveness of Russia, to develop the economic, socio-political, cultural and spiritual spheres of society, to improve the public administration system based on the use of information and telecommunication technologies ".

The quantitative indicators provided for by such documents characterize the technological and economic aspects of the information sphere. "Strategies for the Development of the Information Society in the Russian Federation" provides for a number of benchmarks for indicators of the development of the information society, which must be achieved by 2015, including the level of accessibility of basic services in the field of information and telecommunication technologies for the population (100%), the level of use broadband access lines per 100 people (15 lines by 2010 and 35 by 2015), the number of households with personal computers (at least 70% of the total number of households), the share of library collections converted to electronic form, in the total volume of collections of public libraries (at least 50%), the share of domestic goods and services in the volume of the internal market of information and telecommunication technologies (more than 50%); growth of investments in the use of information and telecommunication technologies in the national economy (not less than 2.5 times compared to 2007). Obviously, such indicators make it possible to judge, first of all, about the success in creating a modern information and telecommunication infrastructure and the corresponding level of accessibility of information and technologies for the population.

One of the important indicators stipulated by the "Strategy" is Russia's place in international rankings of information society development - among the twenty leading countries of the world by 2015. It should be emphasized that such ratings are based mainly on data characterizing the diffusion of technology. So the index of the International Telecommunication Union takes into account 11 indicators. Among them are those that characterize access to information and communication technologies (including mobile communications and landline phones), the prevalence of broadband communications, the number of Internet users and their literacy, the number of households with computers. Data for 2002-2007 indicate that, despite all efforts in developing countries, the digital divide between developed and lagging countries has not been bridged. The index of development of information and communication technologies is also called the index of the development of the information society. Obviously, in such cases, the information society is understood as the corresponding components of the technosphere and market segments.

Against this background, the desire to oppose the knowledge society to the information society seems quite understandable. The UNESCO report states: “The concept of the information society is based on advances in technology. Knowledge societies imply broader social, ethical and political dimensions. ” It is noteworthy that the first chapter of the report is called "From the information society to knowledge societies", and the formation of the global information society is assigned the role of a means of creating "real knowledge societies." have long been discussed in the context of the information society. The foregoing fully applies to the problem of the "cognitive gap", which is recognized today as one of the most important problems of the formation of knowledge societies. The concept of the "cognitive divide" is directly related to such concepts as the "digital divide" and "information inequality".

In the literature, one can find different interpretations of the relationship between the concept of an information society and the concepts of a knowledge society and a post-industrial society. It is sometimes said that a post-industrial society is replacing an industrial one (as can be seen from the name), after a while the post-industrial society becomes an information society (that is, an information society is a stage in the development of a post-industrial society), and the information society is followed by a knowledge society. This way of "ordering" can be explained, apparently, by the fact that the corresponding ideas acquired wide popularity in just such a sequence. However, all these ideas were put forward almost simultaneously, and the social, technological and economic processes interpreted with their help are closely intertwined.

From the outside, it looks surprising the carefree attitude of people engaged in such topics to the issues of conceptual consistency, terminological certainty, variability of meanings and the appropriateness of introducing new concepts, author's priority and commensurability of descriptions. Nevertheless, here the main points of attraction of research interest, and the general content in various characteristics of the emerging order, and repeated methods of correlating the present with the past and future, allowing one to make predictions and create plans, are quite clearly visible.

Material prepared by leading researcher IP RAS I.Yu. Alekseeva based on the work of: Alekseeva I.Yu. What is a Knowledge Society? M .: Kogito-Center, 2009.

Masuda Y. The Information Society as Postindustrial Society. Wash .: World Future Soc., 1983

Masuda Y. The Information Society as Postindustrial Society. Wash .: World Future Soc. 1983, p. 29.

Clark C. The Conditions of Economic Progress. L., 1957

Machlup F. The Production and Distribution of Knowledge in the United States. Princeton, 1962

Bell D. The Social Framework of the Information Society. Oxford, 1980. In Russian. lang .: Bell D. Social framework of the information society. Abbreviated. transl. Yu. V. Nikulicheva // New technocratic wave in the West. Ed. P. S. Gurevich. M., 1988

Bell D. The Coming of Post-Industrial Society. A Venture in Social Forcasting. N.Y., Basic Books, Inc., 1973. Russian translation of this book, edited by V.L. Inozemtsev, was published in 1999.

Bell D. Social framework of the information society. Abbreviated. transl. Yu. V. Nikulicheva // New technocratic wave in the West. Ed. P. S. Gurevich. M., 1988, p. 330

Thus, the “Concept of Moscow's Movement to an Information Society” states: “There is no generally accepted definition of an information society, but most experts agree that its essence is determined by several interrelated processes”. The following are noted as such processes: “information and knowledge are becoming an important resource and truly driving force for socio-economic, technological and cultural development”; “A market for information and knowledge is being formed as a factor of production on a par with the markets for natural resources, labor and capital”; "The share of industries providing the creation, transmission and use of information is growing rapidly"; “A developed information infrastructure is turning into a condition that determines national and regional competitiveness no less than, for example, transport communications”; "The development and active implementation of new information and communication technologies (ICT) in all spheres of activity significantly changes the models of education, labor, social life and recreation" (See: "The concept of Moscow's movement towards an information society // Information society. International information and analytical journal. 3, 2001, p. 7). The Strategy for the Development of the Information Society in the Russian Federation indicates freedom and equality in access to information and knowledge as one of the basic principles, and ensuring a high level of accessibility of information and technologies for the population as one of the basic principles (See: Strategy for the Development of Information society in the Russian Federation of February 7, 2008 N Pr-212 // Russian newspaper. Federal issue No. 4591 of February 16, 2008).

See: Poster M. The Mode of Information: Poststructuralism and Social Context. Cambridge: Polity Press, 1990

United Nations
UNESCO. World Summit on the Information Society (Geneva, 2003). Building the Information Society - A Global Challenge in the New Millennium: Declaration of Principles (Document WSIS-03 / GENEVA / DOC / 4-R, 12 December 2003)

Strategy for the development of the information society in the Russian Federation of February 7, 2008 N Pr-212 // Rossiyskaya Gazeta. Federal issue No. 4591 dated February 16, 2008)

To knowledge societies. UNESCO World Report. Paris: UNESCO Publishing, 2005, p. 19

With the development of mankind, the role of information in the life of society and the individual has constantly increased. The most important human achievements in informatization- it:

• the emergence of writing (about $ 3000 $ BC, Egypt);
• the invention of printing ($ X $ century - China, $ XV $ century - Europe);
• means of communication (telegraph, telephone, radio, television; end of $ XIX $ - beginning of $ XX $ century).

Now it is believed that we are gradually moving from an industrial society to a post-industrial (informational) one.

Definition 1

Information society- this is a stage in the development of civilization at which information and knowledge become the main products of production.

Definition 2

The transition to the information society is often referred to as informatization.

Japan, the USA and some European countries (for example, Germany) have already approached the information society. This can be judged by the following features:

• the introduction of computers and information technology in all spheres of life;
• development of means of communication (communications);
• computer literacy training for any person;
• freedom of access to any information;
• development of distance education using the Internet;
• changing the economic structure in terms of informatization;
• changing the way of life of people (communication via the Internet, social networks, online stores, e-commerce ...).

Remark 1

As a result of industrialization, machines have replaced humans, and as a result of informatization, computers begin to independently collect and process information, replacing the mental work of people.

On the one hand, the transition to an information society makes life easier for people, because all routine work is performed by a computer. On the other hand, there are also negative consequences:

• strengthening the influence of the media (through mass information, a group of people can influence the human masses, which leads to tourist acts);
• as a result of the availability of information, the privacy of people and entire organizations is destroyed;
• the gigantic flow of information does not make it possible to determine its reliability;
• personal communication is increasingly being replaced by communication on the Internet (social networks, chats, blogs ...);
• older people cannot adapt to changing conditions.

As a result of informatization, information accumulates in libraries, banks and databases, which are called information resources country and the world as a whole. Nowadays, information resources have become a commodity. Many companies provide information services:

• search and selection of information;
• staff recruitment;
• education;
• advertising;
• consulting;
• creation of automated information systems and websites.

One of the hallmarks of the information society- widespread introduction of information technologies in all spheres of life.

Definition 3

New information technologies- These are technologies associated with the use of computer technology for storing, protecting, processing and transmitting information.

Information technology includes:

• preparation of documents;
• search for information;
• telecommunications (computer networks; Internet, e-mail);
• automation of control systems (creation and application of ACS);
• CAD (implementation of computer-aided design systems);
• geographic information systems (implementation of systems based on maps and satellite imagery);
• training (computer simulators, distance learning; electronic textbooks, multimedia development).

The growing role of information in modern society requires from each person a certain culture of handling information and information technologies, i.e. information culture.

Information culture of society Is the ability of society:

• effectively use information resources and means of information exchange;
• apply achievements and advanced information technologies.

Human information culture Is his ability to use modern technologies to solve his problems related to the search and processing of information. A modern person should be able to:

• formulate your need for information;
• find the information you need using various sources;
• select and analyze information;
• process information;
• use the information to make a decision.

The success of a person depends on his ability to competently work with information.

Concept "Information culture" includes ethics of information use.

Unethical:

• suppress the statements of others;
• threaten someone;
• distribute statements, images, photographs, personal files, opinions of others without their consent;
• preserve authorship;
• "Hack" sites, mailboxes, personal pages on social networks, blogs;
• Create malware to steal information.

All of the above is a criminal offense and is punishable by imprisonment for up to $ 5 years (Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, article $ 272).

In Russia, there are several stages of informatization of society.

At the first stage ($ 1991-1994) formed the foundations in the field of informatization. Second stage ($ 1994-1998) led to the development of the information policy of the state. Third stage, which continues to this day, is a stage in the formation of policy in the field of building the information society. In the $ 2008 $ year was adopted Information Society Development Strategy up to $ 2020 $ g. The expected final result of the Strategy will be the availability of a wide range of opportunities for using information technologies for industrial, scientific, educational and social purposes. These opportunities will be available to any citizen, regardless of his age, health status, region of residence and any other characteristics. Opportunities for the use of information technology are ensured through the creation of an appropriate infrastructure, the provision of digital content and the training of users.

The informatization of society is entirely dependent on computerization and the introduction of new means of communication. Information society- a society in which the majority of workers are engaged in the production, storage, processing and sale of information, especially its highest form - knowledge.

Remark 2

On the one hand, the development of computer technology and communication technologies provides ample opportunities and seeming complete freedom. On the other hand, in the information society, all the norms of law and morality that mankind has developed throughout history continue to operate.

Less than a century ago, a person received about 15 thousand a week. Now we receive about ten thousand messages every hour. And among all this information flow it is very difficult to find the necessary message, but to do nothing - this is just one of the negative characteristics of the modern information society.

Specifications

So what is the information society? This is a society in which the bulk of workers are engaged in the production, storage or processing of information. At this stage of development, the information society has a number of distinctive characteristics:

• Information, knowledge and technology are of great importance in the life of society.
• The number of people engaged in the production of information products, communications or information technology is increasing every year.
• The informatization of society is growing, with the use of telephones, television, the Internet, and the media.
• A global information space is being created, which ensures effective interaction between individuals. People get access to the world's information resources. Within the created information space, each of its participants satisfies their needs for information products or services.
• Electronic democracy, information state and government are developing rapidly, digital markets for social and economic networks are emerging.

Terminology

The first to define what the information society is were scientists from Japan. In the Land of the Rising Sun, this term began to be used in the 60s of the last century. Almost simultaneously with them, the term "information society" began to be used by scientists from the United States. Such authors as M. Porat, I. Masuda, R. Karts and others made a great contribution to the development of this theory. This theory received support from those researchers who studied the formation of a technogenic or technological society, as well as from those who studied changes in society, which is influenced by the increased role of knowledge.

Already at the end of the twentieth century, the term "information society" firmly took its place in the lexicon of specialists in the information sphere, politicians, scientists, economists and teachers. Most often, it was associated with the development of information technology and other means that would help humanity make a new leap in evolutionary development.

Today there are two opinions on what the information society is:

1. This is a society where the production and consumption of information is considered the main activity, and information is the most significant resource.
2. This is a society that replaced the post-industrial one, the main product here is information and knowledge, the information economy is actively developing.

It is also believed that the concept of the information society is nothing more than a kind of theory of post-industrial society. Consequently, it can be viewed as a sociological and futurological concept, where the main factor of social development is the production and use of scientific and technical information.

Come to a consensus

Given how much information technology has infiltrated into everyday life, these consequences are often called the information or computer revolution. In the teachings of the West, more and more attention is paid to this phenomenon, as evidenced by the vast number of relevant publications. However, it should be noted that the concept of "information society" is put in the place where the theory of post-industrial society was in the 70s.

Some scientists believe that the post-industrial and information society are completely different stages of development, so a clear line must be drawn between them. Despite the fact that the concept of the information society was called upon to replace the theory of a post-industrial society, its supporters still develop important provisions of technocratism and futurology.

D. Bell, who formulated the theory of post-industrial society, considers the concept of information society to be a new stage in the development of post-industrial society. Simply put, the scientist insists that the information society is the second level of development of the postindustrial one, so it is not worth confusing or replacing these concepts.

James Martin. Information Society Criteria

The writer believes that the information society must meet several criteria:

1. Technological. Information technology is used in various spheres of human activity.
2. Social. Information is an important stimulator of changes in the quality of life. Such a concept as "information consciousness" appears, since knowledge is widely available.
3. Economic. Information is becoming the main resource in economic relations.
4. Political. Freedom of information leading to the political process.
5. Cultural. Information is considered cultural property.

The development of the information society brings with it a number of changes. Thus, structural changes in the economy can be traced, especially when it comes to the distribution of labor. People are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of information and technology. Many are beginning to realize that for a full-fledged existence it is necessary to eliminate their own computer illiteracy, since information technologies are present in almost all spheres of life. The government strongly supports the development of information and technology, but with them malware and computer viruses develop.

Martin believes that in an information society, the quality of life directly depends on information and how a person will exploit it. In such a society, all spheres of human life are influenced by advances in the segment of knowledge and information.

Good and bad

Scientists believe that development in society makes it possible to manage large complexes of organizations, the production of systems and coordinate the work of thousands of people. New scientific directions related to the problems of organizational sets continue to develop.

And yet the process of informatization of society has its drawbacks. Society is losing its stability. Small groups of people can have a direct impact on the information society agenda. For example, hackers can break into banking systems and transfer large amounts of money to their accounts. Or the media can cover the problems of terrorism, which have a destructive impact on the formation of public consciousness.

Information revolution

1. The spread of the language.
2. The emergence of writing.
3. Mass printing of books.
4. Applications of various types of electrical communication.
5. The use of computer technology.

A. Rakitov emphasizes that the role of the information society in the near future will be to influence civilizational and cultural processes. Knowledge will become the largest stake in the global power competition.

Peculiarities

• Individuals can use the information resources of society from anywhere in the country. That is, from anywhere they can get access to the information they need to live.
• Information technology is available to everyone.
• There are infrastructures in society that ensure the creation of the necessary information resources.
• Acceleration and automation of work is taking place in all branches of production.
• Social structures are changing, and as a result, the areas of information activities and services are expanding.

The information society differs from the industrial one by the rapid growth rate of new jobs. The segment of economic development is dominated by the information industry.

Two questions

The dynamism of technological modernization poses two main questions for society:

• Are people adapting to change?
• Will new technologies be able to generate social differentiation?

During the transition of society to an informational society, people can face a significant problem. They will be divided into those who can use new knowledge and technologies, and those who do not have such skills. As a result, information technologies will remain in the hands of a small social group, which will lead to the inevitable stratification of society and the struggle for power.

Despite this danger, new technologies can empower citizens by giving them instant access to the information they need. They will give the opportunity to create, and not only consume, new knowledge and allow maintaining the anonymity of personal messages. Although, on the other hand, the penetration of information technology into privacy carries a threat to the inviolability of personal data. No matter how you look at the information society, the main trends in its development will always cause both a sea of ​​delight and a storm of indignation. As, however, in any other area.

Information Society: Development Strategy

When it was recognized that society had entered a new stage of development, appropriate steps were required. The authorities of many countries have begun to develop a plan for the development of the information society. For example, in Russia, researchers distinguish several stages of development:

1. First, the foundations were formed in the field of informatization (1991-1994).
2. Later, there was a change in priorities from informatization to the creation of an information policy (1994-1998).
3. The third stage is the formation of a policy in the field of creating an information society (year 2002 - our time).

The state is also interested in the development of this process. In 2008, the Russian government adopted a strategy for the development of the information society, which is valid until 2020. The government has set itself the following tasks:

• Creation of information and telecommunication infrastructure in order to provide high-quality services for access to information on its basis.
• Improve the quality of education, health care and social protection through the development of technologies.
• Improvement of the system of state guarantees of human rights in the information sphere.
• Using information and improve the economy.
• Improve the efficiency of public administration.
• To develop science, technology and technology to prepare qualified personnel in the field of information technology.
• To preserve culture, to strengthen moral and patriotic principles in the public consciousness, to develop a system of cultural and humanitarian education.
• Counteract the use of information technology achievements as a threat to the country's national interests.

To solve such problems, the state apparatus is developing special measures for the development of a new society. Define performance benchmarks and improve information technology policy. They create favorable conditions for the development of science, technology and equal access of citizens to information.

conclusions

So what is the information society? This is a theoretical model that is used to describe a new stage of social development that began with the beginning of the information and computer revolution. The technological basis in this society is not industrial, but information and telecommunication technologies.

This is a society where information is the main economic resource, and this sector comes out on top in terms of the number of people employed, the share of GDP and capital investments, according to the rate of development. A developed infrastructure is traced, which ensures the creation of information resources. It primarily includes education and science. In such a society, intellectual property is the main form of property.

Information turns into a product of mass consumption. Everyone living in society has access to any kind of information, this is guaranteed not only by law, but also by technical capabilities. In addition, new criteria for assessing the level of development of society are emerging. For example, an important criterion is the number of computers, Internet connections, mobile and home phones. With the help of the fusion of telecommunications, computer-electronic and audiovisual technology, a single integrated information system is being created in society.

Today the information society can be regarded as a kind of global phenomenon, which includes: the world information economy, space, infrastructure and legal and regulatory system. Here, business activity becomes an information and communication environment, the virtual economy and financial system is spreading more and more widely. The information society gives many opportunities, but it did not arise out of nowhere - it is the result of centuries of activity of all mankind.

1.Information Society

1.1 Information - page 2

1.2 Information revolutions - page 3

1.3 Understanding the Information Society - page 5

1.4Features and characteristics - page 7

2. An example of the information society - the Internet - page 8

3. Formation of the information society (USA and Europe) - page 9

4. References - page 12

1. INFORMATION SOCIETY

1 Information.

The existence of mankind on planet Earth, the formation and development of society and the state are associated with information and are conditioned by it.

Information- this is new information that allows you to improve the processes associated with the transformation of matter, energy and information itself. Information is information that expands the stock of knowledge of the end user.

Information is a fundamental scientific concept. It is widely used both in science and in everyday life. Information in the history of the development of civilization has always played a decisive role and served as the basis for decision-making at all levels and stages of development of society and the state.

There are three approaches to defining the concept of "Information": anthropocentric, technocentric and non-deterministic. The anthropocentric approach is that information is identified with information or facts that can be obtained and assimilated, i.e. converted into knowledge (for example, this approach is used in Russian legislation). The technocentric approach is that information is presented as data that can not in all cases be considered information (for example, on the Internet, the same data transmitted by the server can be interpreted by the client as different information, depending on what hardware and software methods he positions and how they are configured). The non-deterministic approach is to refuse to define information on the grounds that this concept is fundamental.

Computer science as a discipline determines the methodological principles of information modeling of the surrounding reality and the manipulation of such models using computer technology. She studies information, its properties, criteria and structures in natural and artificial information communications, provides for the study of principles, models, algorithms for storing, transforming, analyzing and synthesizing information, as well as their software and a priori implementation.

1.2 Information revolutions.

In the history of social development, several information revolutions associated with cardinal changes in the production, processing and circulation of information, leading to radical transformations of social relations. As a result of such transformations, society acquired, in a certain sense, a new quality.

The first information revolution connected with the invention of writing, which led to a giant qualitative and quantitative leap in the information development of society. It became possible to fix knowledge on a material medium, thereby alienating it from the manufacturer and passing it on from generation to generation.

Second information revolution(mid-sixteenth century) caused by the invention of printing (first printers Gutenberg and Ivan Fedorov). The possibility of replication and active dissemination of information has appeared, the accessibility of people to sources of knowledge has increased. This revolution radically changed society, created additional opportunities for familiarizing large segments of the population with cultural values ​​at once.

Third information revolution(the end of the nineteenth century) was caused by the invention of electricity, thanks to which the telegraph, telephone, radio appeared, allowing to quickly transmit and accumulate information in significant volumes. The consequence of this revolution is an increase in the degree of dissemination of information, an increase in the information "coverage" of the population by means of broadcasting. The role of information as a means of influencing the development of society and the state has significantly increased, and the possibility of operational communication between people has emerged.

The fourth information revolution(mid-twentieth century) is associated with the invention of computing technology and the emergence of the personal computer, the creation of communication and telecommunication networks. It became possible to accumulate, store, process and transmit information in electronic form. The efficiency and speed of creating and processing information increased, virtually unlimited volumes of information began to accumulate in the computer's memory, and the speed of transmission, search and retrieval of information increased.

Today we are experiencing the fifth information revolution associated with the formation and development of cross-border global information and telecommunication networks, covering all countries and continents, penetrating into every home and affecting simultaneously both on each person individually and on huge masses of people. The most striking example of such a phenomenon and the result of the revolution is the Internet. The essence of this revolution lies in the integration in a single information space around the world of software and hardware, communications and telecommunications, information stocks or stocks of knowledge as a single information telecommunications infrastructure, in which legal entities and individuals, state authorities and local self-government bodies are actively operating. As a result, the speeds and volumes of processed information are incredibly increasing, new unique opportunities for the production, transmission and distribution of information, search and receipt of information, new types of traditional activities in these networks appear.

We are witnessing a significant increase in the role and place of information in the life of an individual, society, state, the impact of information on the development of an individual, society, and the state. Information has become a powerful and tangible resource that is even more valuable than natural financial, labor and other resources. Information has become a commodity that can be bought and sold. Information has become a weapon, information wars arise and stop. The cross-border information network Internet is actively developing and entering our life.

1. 3. The concept of the information society.

All this transforms the life of an individual, society, state. Civilization in general and each of us, in particular, are in the stage of forming a society of a new type - information society... This society is still not clear to many. The social system and law as one of the regulators of this system lag significantly behind the pace of development of the information society, from the incomprehensible speed of the "attack" on us of new information technologies and the World Wide Web, the "building material" of the information society.

The emergence of the term " Information society" associated with the US program to create a National Research and Education Network in 1991, NREN (National Research and Education Network), which was supposed to facilitate the development of a national information infrastructure NII (National Information Infrastructure).

The European Community in December 1993, in response, developed a number of projects to create the European Information Society IS (Information Society). In December 1994, the Information Society Project Office (ISPO) was established. By the fall of 1998, the ISPO was already considering more than 2000 projects to create the information society. The Information Society Activity Center (ISAC) has been created, whose task is to develop a system of criteria for the country's proximity to the information society. The implementation of projects of informatization of society is carried out at the level of governments, members of the ISPO countries.

In July 2000, in Okinawa, the G8 countries adopted the Charter of the Global Information Society, which sets out the basic principles for states to enter such a society. The G8 has proclaimed the most important provisions that countries should apply when implementing policies for the formation and development of the information society. The Charter for the Global Information Society is divided into four sections:

using the possibilities of digital technologies;

bridging the digital divide;

promoting universal participation;

further development.

What is Information society? In accordance with the concept of Z. Brzezinski, D. Bell, O. Toffler, supported by other foreign scientists, the information society is a kind of post-industrial society. Considering social development as a “change of stages”, supporters of this concept of the information society associate its formation with the dominance of the “fourth”, information sector of the economy, following three well-known sectors - agriculture, industry and the service economy. At the same time, they argue that capital and labor, as the basis of an industrial society, are giving way to information and knowledge in the information society.

1. 4.Features and characteristics

Information society is a special society, unknown to history. It is difficult to define it, but you can list the main features and characteristics:

Availability of information infrastructure, consisting of cross-border information and telecommunication networks and information resources distributed in them as stocks of knowledge;

Mass use of personal computers connected to cross-border information and telecommunication networks (TITS). Precisely mass, otherwise it is not a society, but an aggregate of its individual members;

Preparedness of members of society for work on personal computers and in cross-border information and telecommunication networks;

New forms and types of activities in TITS or in the virtual space (daily work in networks, purchase and sale of goods and services, communication and communication, recreation and entertainment, medical care, etc.);

The opportunity for everyone to receive complete, accurate and reliable information from TITS almost instantly;

Almost instant communication of each member of society with everyone, everyone with everyone and everyone with everyone (for example, chat rooms of interest on the Internet);

Transformation of the activities of the media (media), integration of media and TITS, creation of a unified environment for the dissemination of media - multimedia;

Absence of geographical and geopolitical borders of the TITS member states, "collision" and "breaking" of national legislations of countries in these networks, the formation of new international information law and legislation.

2. An example of the information society is the Internet.

Typical example information structure of such information society – Internet. Today, the Internet is actively filling the information space in all countries and on all continents and is the main and active means of forming an information society.

There are two estimates of the amount of content on the Internet. According to some data (controlled Internet) at the beginning of 2000, the Internet had more than 1 billion documents on 4 million servers, according to other sources (“invisible” or “deep” Internet) it contains more than 550 billion documents. In general, the volume of information resources on the Internet is growing exponentially.

Formation of the information society (on the example of the USA and Europe)

The United States and Europe are going to the information society in slightly different ways.

The United States was a kind of pioneer in the formation of the foundations of the practical formation of information infrastructure - the technological basis of the information society. In 1993, the US government issued a report with plans for the development of the national information infrastructure (NII) (Agenda for Action). To study the problems associated with the construction of research institutes, a Working Group on Information Infrastructure (Information Infrastructure Task Forse) was created.

In a specially prepared report, the main principles of the formation of the information society were recommended: encouragement of private investment; the concept of universal access; assistance in technological innovation; providing interactive access; protection of privacy, security and reliability of networks; improved radio spectrum management; protection of intellectual property rights; coordination of government efforts; providing access to government information. In accordance with this report, the United States embarked on the construction of the information superhighway as a technological tool that allows everyone to find information, entertainment to their liking, and which is defined as the totality of all technologies associated with the production, processing, storage and dissemination of information, be it television, computer networks, satellite broadcasting, commercial online companies.

The reports of the working groups, designed to study the problems associated with these processes, are devoted to humanitarian topics - health care, education, preservation of privacy and information, protection of intellectual property rights, etc. gradually develops into a global one.

Europe is also giving serious attention to the formation of the information society. A strategy for Europe's entry into the information society has been developed, recommendations for entry into it have been prepared and are being implemented.

Resolutions and documents of the Council of Europe are devoted to various aspects of the formation of the information society in European countries. In February 1995, the European Commission established a Forum to discuss common problems in the emergence of the information society. Its 128 members represent users of new technologies, various social groups, content and service providers, network operators, government and international institutions. The purpose of the Forum is to trace the process of the formation of the information society in such areas as the impact on the economy and employment; the creation of social and democratic values ​​in the "virtual community"; impact on public, government services; education, retraining, training in the information society, cultural dimension and the future of the media, sustainable development, technology and infrastructure.

If Europe is unable to quickly and effectively adapt to the conditions of the information society, then it will lose its competitiveness in the face of the US and Asian economies, as well as social exclusion within the European community.

Almost every country in Europe has a program dedicated to the formation of a national policy in building an information society, and this policy is perceived not as a tribute to fashion, but as an imperative, failure to comply with which is fraught with the loss of competitiveness of the entire country, a comparative decline in the standard of living, loss of development and advanced economic, trade, technological positions.

If we consider the problem of the formation of the information society as a whole, then the specificity of the modern moment is expressed in the fact that the further progress of information and telecommunication technologies depends not so much on breakthroughs in technologies itself, but on how quickly the old norms regulating traditionally different sectors, telecommunications, television and other media.