Information Societies

To say that today we live in an information age we are referring to the simple fact that information can be found and shared easily through different sources of media such as the internet, television, and radio.  The information age or 'information societies' allocate to every citizen a voice, and a feeling of empowerment through freedom of speech.  Though our society has moved into the information age, it was not without criticisms throughout history that got us to where we are today.  In 1951 Innis criticized the use of information and it's correlation to our social, cultural, and economical growth, stating that information was not necessarily right for the well-being of humans.  Years later in 1986 information was subjected to scrutiny by Miles and Gershuny.  They believed that even if the coming information age did positively influence the economics of society, that it would only influence a specific amount of people instead of equally distributing information resources.  In my own opinion I believe there is validity in their arguments. In fact I believe that since human beings acquired knowledge, and with it technology, we have created a society of inequality.  This is because in society those who possess the knowledge hold the power and those who do not have the knowledge are belittled in society.  Though people are able to speak their minds through ICTs such as the internet, it is only those who possess the information resources that are thoroughly benefiting from the information age.  What is more through the popularity of the internet, an 'addiction' to information through ICTs is forming, and though people are able to voice their opinions, the internet becomes a form of control over the user.  Think about it, how do we know if the information we are getting through the internet is valid?  We blindly choose to believe everything ICTs are telling us, which gives the advantage to those who possess the knowledge.  They are essentially telling us what to think, not to mention what to buy through the bombardment of advertisements we are forced to view.  Their is little to no control to the commercial advertising simple because those in control do not see the need as they are benifiting financially.  Though technology and information has on the surface progressed our society, when you get down to it we probably had more freedom for our own thoughts before the post-industrial society.