Information Age 1
Information Age: The Past, Present and Future
Devon Bates
Amberton University
Information Age 2
Information Age
The Information Age, also known as the Digital Age or Computer Age, is an descriptive
term referring to our current age where we have the ability to have instant access to information
and transfer information freely. The Information Age characterizes the shift from the traditional
industry to an economy based on information computerization. It emphasizes the growing
presence of technical devices and tools in society that allow for the much more rapid
communication of information and knowledge than was the case in previous periods.
Technological changes brought dramatic new options to Americans living in the 1990s. The late
20th century saw rapid growth in information and communication technology. In this new
communication galaxy the flow of information became quicker and continuous (Szecsi, 2013).
Computers went from being locked away mainframes to personal desktop machines and personal
computers became widespread by the end of the 1980s. Computers and their users went from
isolation to being able to communicate with each other, to connect with each other over local or
even national networks. Individual users could link their computer to a wealth of information
using conventional phone lines. What lay beyond the individual computer was a vast domain of
information known as cyberspace. Because of this, new forms of entertainment, commerce,
research, work, and communication became commonplace in the United States. The driving
force behind much of this change was an innovation popularly known as the Internet.
The Internet is a vast network of computers connected across the globe that can share
both information and processing (Sousa & Oz, 2015, 21). The origins of the Internet date back to
research commissioned by the United States government in the 1960s to build robust, fault-
tolerant communication via computer networks (Stewart, 2000). It was developed by the
Information Age 3
Department of Defense in the case of an attack. Military advisers suggested the advantage of
being able to operate one computer from another terminal. In the early days, the Internet was
used mainly by scientists to communicate with other scientists. The Internet remained under
government control until 1984 (UShistory.org, 2015). It was conceived as a fail-proof that could
connect computers together and be resistant to any one point of failure. The Internet could not be
totally destroyed in one event. Even if one area was disabled, the Internet could easily reroute
information. The Internet has existed since 1969 but with the invention of the World Wide Web
in 1989 by two scientists, and its implementation in 1991, the Internet became a global network
(Stewart, 2000). The Internet continues to grow, driven by ever greater amounts of online
information and knowledge, commerce, entertainment and social networking. During the late
1990s, it was estimated that traffic on the public Internet grew by 100 percent per year, while the
