RIZAL TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY

Barangay Maybunga, Pasig City

Graduate School
2018-2019

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS IN

APPLICATION OF COMPUTERS
(INFOTECH 202)

SUBMITTED BY:

GERALDINE M. DE GUZMAN

SUBMITTED TO:

DR. MA. LUISA M. VILLANUEVA

 FUTURE SHOCK by ALVIN TOFFLER

Book Details

Author: Alvin Toffler

Publisher: Random House

Publication date: 1970

ISBN: 0-394-42586-3

About the Author

Alvin Toffler (October 4, 1928 – June 27, 2016) was an American writer, futurist,
and businessman known for his works discussing modern technologies, including the digital
revolution and the communication revolution, with emphasis on their effects on cultures
worldwide.
Toffler was an associate editor of Fortune magazine. In his early works he focused on
technology and its impact, which he termed "information overload." In 1970 his first major book
about the future, Future Shock, became a worldwide best-seller and has sold over 6 million copies.
The book perfectly captured the angst of that time and prepared society for more changes to come.
He and his wife Heidi Toffler, who collaborated with him for most of his writings, moved
on to examining the reaction to changes in society with another best-selling book, The Third
Wave in 1980.

The late Alvin Toffler (1928-2016) was the best-selling, ground-breaking author of The
Third Wave, Powershift and The Adaptive Corporation. A social thinker, visiting professor at
Cornell University and futurist, Toffler burst into the world’s consciousness in 1970 with this
predictive tome. Toffler’s ability to take current trends, mix them with science, season them with
research, and then produce social, financial and medical prognostication brought him fame, fortune
and an audience in 50 nations. His writing is simple and easy to read, but it hits like a hammer.
His convincing arguments changed how people thought about the future and elevated the level of
discussion of trends and their impacts. Toffler introduced the idea that the average reader could
easily comprehend upcoming megatrends that would shape the world. He showed audiences how
large – and largely ignored – forces combine to make the future. He also introduced a new level
of paranoia about people being unable to control the shape of the coming world.

About the Book

Future Shock is a 1970 book in which Alvin Toffler defines the term "future shock" as a
certain psychological state of individuals and entire societies. In this book he argued that society
is undergoing an enormous structural change. And this change overwhelms people. He believed
the accelerated rate of technological and social change left people disconnected and suffering from
"shattering stress and disorientation" which he called it “future shocked”. Toffler stated that the
majority of social problems are symptoms of future shock. In their discussion of the components
of such shock, they popularized the term "information overload."

The modern information technology that we are experiencing has been a primary driver of
information overload. Longstanding technological factors have been further intensified by the rise
of social media and the attention economy. In the age of connective digital
technologies, informatics, the Internet culture (or the digital culture), information overload is
associated with the over-exposure, excessive consumption, and input abundance of information
and data. This book emphasizes what will be our world look like in the future.

In the Author’s Own Words

Future Shock discusses change and what happens to people in the future, how they do and
don’t adapt. This book certainly appropriate for the changes of the age of technology. The book
was written about the future and that future is now. Massive changes result in stress and
disorientation, especially when this changes take place in a short period of time. Man must cope
up with this changes.

He pointed that if future shock is to be avoided, society must control the accelerating thrust
and must make plans, for the future and changes will it bring. There should be studies of the
different scenarios that might exist in the future and the effects of these scenarios will have on
values and lifestyles. Without some kind of preparation and control, society might not be able to
deal with future and will suffer from future shock. It is not necessary for future shock to take place
if the proper measures are taken.
 Much of the book consists of the results of various research studies. Many of these studies
deal with man’s ability to change and react to change. The various changes experienced in life
produce stress and this leads to strain on the body’s defense mechanisms and results in illness.
There is a certain amount of change that men can handle and this called the adaptive range. If the
amount of change is below the level, the result is boredom and people seeking for more excitement
ion life. If the level of change is above the adaptive range, man’s coping mechanism breaks down
and results is destruction and irrationality.

Analysis and Evaluation of the Book

Future Shock is about the present. Future Shock is about what is happening today to people
and groups who are overwhelmed by change. Change affects our products, communities,
organizations or even our patterns of friendship and love. It vividly describes the emerging global
civilization: tomorrow’s family life, the rise of new businesses, subcultures, life-styles, and human
relationships and all of them temporary. Future Shock illuminates the world of tomorrow by
exploding countless clichés about today.

Future Shock by Alvin Toffler discusses change and what happens to people; how they do
and don't adapt. Even though the book was first published in 1970, it is certainly appropriate for
the changes of the age of technology. The book was written about the future and that future is now.
Massive changes result in stress and disorientation, especially when these changes take place in a
short period of time. Man must cope with these changes and Toffler's point is that there isn't much
known about the mechanisms for coping and adaptability. Toffler's point is that the tactics of the
past will not be successful in the future. If future shock is to be avoided, society must control the
accelerating thrust and must make plans for the future and the changes it will bring. There should
be studies of the different scenarios that might exist in the future and the effects these scenarios
will have on values and lifestyles. Different models and simulations allow people to study future
scenarios and to try out different lifestyles. Without some kind of preparation and control, society
will not be able to deal with the future and will suffer from future shock.
The book deals with man's ability to change and reaction to change. The various changes
experienced in life produce stress and this leads to a strain on the body's defense mechanisms and
results in illness. There is a certain amount of change that men can handle and this is called the
adaptive range. He explained that if the amount of change is below this level, the result is boredom
and people seeking more excitement in life. If the level of change is above the adaptive range,
man's coping mechanism breaks down and the result is destruction and irrationality. if society
does not develop methods to deal with the changes, these might be the results and I think it really
is.
Toffler did a good job in explaining how and why people select the lifestyles that they
select. Abidance to a particular lifestyle makes the individual a member of a sub cult and cuts
down on the number of choices and decisions the individual has to make.- It avoids the problems
of over-selection and over-stimulation. Major life decisions occur when the individual changes his
lifestyle. This involves having to confront all of the choices involved in the selection of a new
lifestyle with a new set of values to adopt.
A large portion of the book is devoted to the study of relationships, with the five major
kinds of relationships being defined and discussed. The result of change is a shortening of the
different relationship with a shift from permanence to impermanence. Relationships are now
characterized by temporariness. This causes a change in values and places a greater strain on man
to adopt.
Even through future Shock was first published in 1970, it is interesting reading and very
relevant to today's world of rapid technological changes. For me, this book is very interesting and
relevant to today’s world of rapid technological changes. The book also challenged people's
understanding of what used to be called progress. I think the value of the book, was to teach people
that the best defense against the future is to think about it, to imagine different scenarios and to try
to avoid being taken by surprise.

Conclusion

As people move further into the future world that Toffler envisioned that some aspects
of Future Shock will inevitably seem outdated to modern readers. Certainly, a few of his specific
predictions widespread use of paper dresses, completely modular buildings, and the disappearance
of street gangs have not been, and apparently will not be, fulfilled. Nevertheless, Toffler’s overall
analysis of modern society in the first four parts of Future Shock remains relevant and valuable.
Many readers will readily relate to the notion that transience, novelty, and diversity increasingly
characterize their lives, and they will find that a number of contemporary concerns which is the
obsolete model of lifelong employment in one company, new and less hierarchal forms of business
organizations, the splintering of society into small interest groups, a diminished feeling of
commitment to a larger “community,” the deterioration of the traditional family structure, and the
overwhelming number of available choices in entertainment and consumer products which are
anticipated and described in Future Shock. Toffler manages to hold his readers’ attention with a
brisk, variegated approach; most chapter sections are only about a thousand words long, and each
topic is developed clearly but not excessively.