Information Age

This article is about the historical period. For the album by dead prez, see Information Age (album). For publisher, see Information Age Publishing.

Third Industrial Revolution
1947–Present
A laptop connects to the Internet to display information from Wikipedia; long-distance communication between computer systems is a hallmark of the Information Age
LocationWorldwide
Key eventstransistor
computer miniaturization
Internet
Chronology
Second Industrial Revolution Fourth Industrial Revolution class-skin-invert-image
Part of a series on
Human history
↑ Prehistory (Stone Age)   (Pleistocene epoch)
Holocene
Ancient
Postclassical
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See also
↓ Future   

The Information Age[a] is a historical period that began in the mid-20th century. It is characterized by a rapid shift from traditional industries, as established during the Industrial Revolution, to an economy centered on information technology.[2] The onset of the Information Age has been linked to the development of the transistor in 1947[2] and the optical amplifier in 1957.[3] These technological advances have had a significant impact on the way information is processed and transmitted.

According to the United Nations Public Administration Network, the Information Age was formed by capitalizing on computer miniaturization advances,[4] which led to modernized information systems and internet communications as the driving force of social evolution.[5]

There is ongoing debate concerning whether the Third Industrial Revolution has already ended and if the Fourth Industrial Revolution has already begun due to the recent breakthroughs in areas such as artificial intelligence and biotechnologies.[6] This next transition has been theorized to harken the advent of the Imagination Age.

  1. ^ Hoover, Stewart M. (26 April 2006). Religion in the Media Age. Media, Religion and Culture (1st ed.). New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-31423-7.
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Manuel was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Grobe, Klaus; Eiselt, Michael (2013). Wavelength Division Multiplexing: A Practical Engineering Guide. John T Wiley & Sons. p. 2.
  4. ^ Kluver, Randy. "Globalization, Informatization, and Intercultural Communication". un.org. Archived from the original on 19 July 2013. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
  5. ^ "The History of Computers". thought.co. Archived from the original on 1 August 2020. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  6. ^ "Regulation for the Fourth Industrial Revolution". gov.uk. Retrieved 16 September 2024.


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