FM-AA-CIA-15 Rev.

0 10-July-2020

Study Guide in GE 6: Science, Technology, and Society Module No. 10

STUDY GUIDE FOR MODULE NO. 10

THE INFORMATION AGE

MODULE OVERVIEW

The Information Age is now upon us. The pace at which technology is evolving is ever increasing –
and people are eager to embrace it. Through the use of computers, cell phones, pagers, calculators, video
game consoles and many other technologically advanced products, communication has changed dramatically.
The information age is changing peoples every day activities and making tedious tasks run more efficiently.
Personal use and business-related use of computers and technology are constantly increasing. Although
there are many positive aspects of the Information Age, there are also many negatives, such as how the
Internet is unregulated. Also, there's a very large legal issue over privacy, as well as many ethical issues
computer-users face daily. Many believe that this era, as developed as it currently is, will continue to progress
and evolve over the years to come.

MODULE LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the end of this Module, you must have achieved the following:
1. linked learned concepts to the development of the information age and its impact on society
2. illustrated how the social media and the information age have impacted our lives

LEARNING ACTIVITY 1

Timing Your Technology

How much are you intertwined with your gadgets and the internet? Let us reflect on this through this
activity.
1. Form groups with 4 – 5 members.
2. Each member should determine how much they use gadgets or devices for 7 days. These gadgets or
devices include, but are not limited to, the following:
a. Cellular phones, or any equivalent device
b. Computers, or any equivalent device
c. Tablets, or any equivalent device
d. Television, or any equivalent device
e. Radio, or any equivalent device
3. Each member should log or write his or her activities using these gadgets during this time period. The
logs would be collated by the group’s leader. The log should include, but is not limited to, the
following:
a. Gadget or device that the group member used
b. Activities that the member used each gadget or device for
c. Total time that the member used each gadget or device for each activity
d. Reflection on the experience
4. The group will discuss the results and their experiences for this activity. The group should look
particularly on similarities of the members, as well as the idiosyncrasies or peculiarities that they
observe. The group will submit a summary of their reports, not exceeding two (2) pages, and should
ultimately include an over-all reflection on how much time we are using technology. Visual aids or
materials are highly encouraged, especially graphs, tables, or charts.
5. What have you learned from timing your technology?

DEFINITION OF INFORMATION AGE

Information age is the modern time in which information has become a commodity that is transmitted
freely, easily and quickly by using personal computer networks. This period is also called the Computer Age,
the Digital Age and the New Media Age. It is the period that started in the last quarter of the 20th century.

According to James R. Messenger who proposed the theory of Information age in 1982, “the
Information age is true age based upon the interconnection of computers via telecommunications, with these

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Study Guide in GE 6: Science, Technology, and Society Module No. 10

information systems operating on both a real time and as needed basis.

HISTORY OF INFORMATION AGE

As man evolved, information and its dissemination has also progressed in many ways. The table below
traces the history and emergence of the Information Age (The Information Age, n.d.)

Table 1: Timeline of the Information Age

Year Event
3000 BC Sumerian writing system used pictographs to represent words
2900 BC Beginning of Egyptian hieroglyphic writing
1300 BC Tortoise shell and oracle bone writing were used
500 BC Papyrus roll was used
220 BC Chinese small seal writing was developed
100 AD Book (parchment codex)
105 AD Woodblock printing and paper was invented by the Chinese
1455 Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press using movable metal type
1755 Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary standardized English spelling
1802 The Library of Congress was established
Invention of the carbo arc lamp
1824 Research on persistence of vision published
1830’s First viable design for a digital computer
Augusta Lady Byron writes the world’s first computer program
1837 Invention of the telegraph in Great Britain and the United States
1861 Motion pictures were projected onto a screen
1876 Dewey Decimal system was introduced
1877 Eadweard Muybridge demonstrated high-speed photography
1899 First magnetic recording were released
1902 Motion picture special effects were used
1906 Lee DeForest invented the electronic amplifying tube (triode)
1923 Television camera tube was invented by Zvorkyn
1926 First practical sound movie
1939 Regularly scheduled television broadcasting began in the US
1940s Beginning of information science as a discipline
1945 Vannevar Bush foresaw the invention of hypertext
1946 ENIAC computer was developed
1948 Birth of field-of-information theory proposed by Claude E. Shannon
1957 Planar transistor was developed by Jean Hoerni
1958 First integrated circuit
1960s Library Congress developed LC MARC (machine readable code)
1969 UNIX operating system was developed, which could handle multitasking
1971 Intel introduced the first microprocessor chip
1972 Optical laserdisc was developed by Philips and MCA
1974 MCA and Philips agreed on a standard videodisc encoding format
1975 Altair Microcomputer Kit was released: First personal computer for the public
1977 Radioshack introduced the first complete personal computer
1984 Apple Macintosh computer was introduced
Mid 1980s Artificial Intelligence was separated from information science
1987 Hypercard was developed by Bill Atkinson recipe box methaphor
1991 Four hundred fifty complete works of literature on one CD ROM was released
January 1997 RSA (encryption and network security software) Internet security code cracked for a 48-bit
number

The Information Age (sometimes called the Digital Age and the New Media Age) is a period starting in

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Study Guide in GE 6: Science, Technology, and Society Module No. 10

the last quarter of the 20th century when information became effortlessly accessible through publications and
through management of information by computers and computer networks. According to James R.
Messenger, who proposed the Theory of Information Age in 1982, this interconnection operates on real-time
and as-needed basis, and that they are driven by convenience and user-friendliness.

To have a much better understanding of the history of the Information Age, you may read Quinto and
Nieva (2019) (pp 132-146), Valverde, et. al (2018) (pp 90-93), and Obanan et. al (2020) (pp 180-185). Pay
particular attention to development of ways of communication and the different types of computers that are
instrumental in these developments, how the internet came about and its original purpose, and the different
types of social media platforms and their historical development.

However, the growth of information transmission, recording, and management grew at a fast rate,
causing great difficulty. Some of the results of information growth are enumerated by Harris (2000) in his
article The Truth of the Information Age. This resulted in real angst which Richard Wurman called Information
Anxiety. It also created a technological divide between those who can afford internet services and those who
cannot, increasing the gap between socioeconomic classes. Other problems caused by these developments
include compromise on reliability, which gives rise to misinformation; reinforcement of biases and beliefs of
like-minded people belonging to social media; control of public opinion and harassment; online predation,
identity theft, scamming, and other new crimes; pornography; and cyberbullying.

LEARNING ACTIVITY 2

Reflection

Are you using social media platforms? If you are, reflect on the following questions:

1. What social media platforms do I use?

2. What kind of content do I post?
3. How much time do I spend on social media activities each day?
4. Why do I use social media platforms?
5. What advantages do I get from using social media platforms?
6. What disadvantages do I experience using social media platforms?
7. What are some significant mistakes I made while learning about social media?

ISSUES

The impacts of the Information Age can be felt in virtually every area of people’s lives. These changes
have the potential to increasingly influence how people communicate, live, work or even spend time for leisure
now and even in the future.

Mason (1986) identified four major ethical issues that involves the Information Age: privacy (the type of
information one could reveal and the conditions that should be taken up to safeguard these information from
others), accuracy (the authenticity of information put forth and the responsible entities regarding those
affected with these information), property (the owner of the information put forth and how it can be exchanged)
, and accessibility (how information can be obtained and who has the right to obtain them). Though written in
1986, these issues are still relevant to this day. Can you think of specific examples in which these issues can
be seen? If so, what are these? If you need more clarification regarding these concepts, you may want to
read Four Ethical Issues of the Information Age by Mason (1986).

The Impact of Social Media

Social media refers to the means of interactions among people in which they create, share, and/or
exchange information and ideas in virtual communities and networks. Social media platforms include instant-
messaging applications (AOL, Yahoo Messenger, MSN Messenger, Windows Messenger, etc.); bulletin-board
forum systems; game-based social networking sites (Facebook, Friendster, MySpace, etc.); messaging,
video, and voice-calling services (Viber, Skype, etc.); blogging platform, image, and video hosting websites
(Flicker, etc.); discovery and dating-oriented websites (Tagged, Tinder, etc.); video sharing services
(YouTube, etc.); real-time social media feed aggregator (FriendFeed, etc.); live-streaming (Justin.tv,
Twitch.tv., etc.), photo-video sharing websites (Pinterest, Instagram, Snapchat, Keek, Vine, TikTok, etc.); and
question-and-answer platforms (Quora, etc.).

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Study Guide in GE 6: Science, Technology, and Society Module No. 10

There are many identified benefits of social media to society. Obanan et. al (2020) discussed how
social media allowed developments in areas such as advertising, politics, and communications. It allowed
many tasks to be easier, especially those which necessitates reaching distances or immediate feedback.
However, with the rise of social media platforms, so is the rise of the issues that they bring to society. Hunter
et al. (2018) identified some issues that social media affect in public health which includes “privacy; anonymity
and confidentiality; authenticity; the rapidly changing SM environment; informed consent; recruitment,
voluntary participation, and sampling; minimizing harm; and data security and management,” though these
issues can also be seen in other aspects of society. (Hunter et al. 2018). To have a better view of these
issues, you may read Ethical Issues in Social Media Research for Public Health by Hunter et al. (2018)
Obanan et. al (2020) also identified cyberbullying and marginalization and misrepresentation of social classes
as some of the disadvantages of social media. They also identified some issues concerning social media in
education, which can be read in Obanan (2020) pp. 185 – 190.

Data Privacy Act

Information technology play a vital role in the development of any country. Therefore, information is
power. It is then in the interest of the country to ensure that the flow of information promotes growth and
innovation. This also entails ensuring that the rights of the citizens are protected in the access and sharing of
information.

In the Philippines, RA No. 10173 or the Data Privacy Act of 2012 was passed “to protect the
fundamental human right to privacy of communication while ensuring free flow of information to promote
innovation and growth [and] the [State’s] inherent obligation to ensure that personal information in information
and communications systems in government and in the private sector are secured and protected.” The
features and details of this act can be found in Republic Act 10173 – Data Privacy Act of 2012
(https://www.privacy.gov.ph/data-privacy-act/).

While technology has certainly lifted many humans out of poverty and enriched our lives in many ways,
it has also made the world increasingly complex and difficult to navigate. The rapid disruption of many
established industries has meant that even the most intelligent and conscientious individuals have had to
struggle to stay relevant in the modern globalized economy—while others, inundated with information to make
sense of, can’t figure out how to make all the right decisions the first time, and must spend years broke,
jobless, underemployed, or burnt out. We are not weaker or stupider than our ancestors, but the world is more
challenging than ever before and we need to go through more trial and error than they did in order to secure a
comfortable existence. Continued technological development will increase material abundance even more, but
technology alone cannot solve the problem of figuring out whom to distribute resources to and getting
everyone on board with how resources are distributed.

Extension Activity

To understand and have more information regarding information technology and its effects to society (both
good and bad), you may read / watch the following:

 Ecker, D. (2014). Germ Catcher. Scientific American. Retrieved from

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263779261_Germ_Catcher
 TED. (2010, July 19). Julian Assange: Why the world needs WikiLeaks. [Video file]. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNOnvp5t7Do
 Putin, O. (2014, July 30). Science, Technology, and Information on the Modern Battlefield (Full
Documentary). [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUtfXuKQ7us

LEARNING ACTIVITY 3

Reflection

Based from your learning on the issues concerning social media and information technology, reflect on
the following questions:

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Study Guide in GE 6: Science, Technology, and Society Module No. 10

1. In your own opinion, which issue posed by developments of information technology and social media
do you think is the most serious or causes the most harm? Why?
2. Do you think that the Data Privacy Act of 2012 is enough in protecting citizens against threats of
information technology? Why or why not?

SUMMARY

The following learning points summarize what you have learned in this section:
 The Information Age (sometimes called the Digital Age and the New Media Age) is a period starting in
the last quarter of the 20th century when information became effortlessly accessible through
publications and through management of information by computers and computer networks.
According to James R. Messenger, who proposed the Theory of Information Age in 1982, this
interconnection operates on real-time and as-needed basis, and that they are driven by convenience
and user-friendliness.
 However, the growth of information transmission, recording, and management grew at a fast rate,
causing great difficulty. It also created a technological divide between those who can afford internet
services and those who cannot, increasing the gap between socioeconomic classes. Other problems
that is caused by these developments include compromise on reliability, which gives rise to
misinformation; reinforcement of biases and beliefs of like-minded people belonging to social media;
control of public opinion and harassment; online predation, identity theft, scamming, and other new
crimes; pornography; and cyberbullying.

REFERENCES

 Ecker, D. (2014). Germ Catcher. Scientific American. Retrieved from

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263779261_Germ_Catcher
 Mason, R. O. (1986). Four Ethical Issues of the Information Age. MIS Quarterly, 10(1), 5.
doi:10.2307/248873
 Obanan, J.M.A.C.P.M.J.A.V.M.S.E. P. (2020). Science, Technology, and Society. C&E Publishing,
Inc.. https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/books/9789719812104
 Putin, O. (2014, July 30). Science, Technology, and Information on the Modern Battlefield (Full
Documentary). [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUtfXuKQ7us
 Quinto, Edward Jay M. and Nieva, Aileen D. (2019). Science, Technology, and Society. Quezon City:
C&E Publishing.
 TED. (2010, July 19). Julian Assange: Why the world needs WikiLeaks. [Video file]. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNOnvp5t7Do
 The Information Age. (n.d.). Retrieved September 27, 2022, from
https://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h3974.html
 Valverde, R.B.F.D.J.M.S.V. M. (2018). Science, Technology, and Society. C&E Publishing, Inc..
https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/books/9789719809357

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