What is information society? An
information society is one in which quality of life and economic development
depend largely on information and its exploitation, increasing use of
computers, commoditization of information, convergence of computing and
telecommunication, internet, use of information technology in management of
public utilities.
It can also be said as a society in which the creation, distribution and
manipulation of information is becoming a significant economic and cultural
activity.
We need to understand what actually information rich and
information poor is in relation to information society. We need to analyze what
the political dilemma is; is it only a political dimension related issue within
the information society? Is it a choice? And if there is, which way should be
chosen and consider as politically correct? And finally we need to find what
other real opportunities or options are given to us.
Before we start ask yourself this question; Are “Haves” and “Have-nots” always “information-rich” and “information
poor”?
Looking at the given definitions it would almost imply that people having a
computer and Internet access would automatically be seen as haves, but
sometimes in developing countries and certainly in developed countries were
consumers widely have access to these technologies we meet situations where
they are not considered as information rich. We should look at a different
approach and formalize the differentiation within our daily reality.
The Information poor are consumers who use traditional mass media
information such as television, DVDs, radios and magazines. They possess a wide
range of electronic devices, MP3 players, PDAs, game consoles and other
computing machines. They are considered as passive consumers of information and
nowadays as passive users of new technologies, downloading digital e-book's,
listening to their favorite music, playing computer games, reading the last
international news. But they do not interact nor create any of this provided
Information and are certainly not involved in decision taking.
On the opposite “information rich” stands for a new elite within the
information society. They are involved into acquiring and processing
information, producing personalized journals on community platforms,
elaborating group discussions in forums with a certain level of knowledgeable
competence. They are acting at manager levels thanks to their acquired
knowledge and overall literacy. They are the protagonists of this ever-growing
information and technology society who possesses the knowhow of Selective processing,
generating and distributing information. This selective process of evaluating
provided information is determined by the consumers rather than the producers.
Consumers pull out the information that fits their needs to increase the value
of the already acquired information.
The gap between the information rich and the
information poor is often called the digital divide. It is not a gap between
those with lots of money and those without.
The gap can exist between many groups in society such as:
·
old and young
·
English speaking and non-English speaking
·
third world and developed world society
·
different cultural groups
·
rural and urban locations
Information Rich and
Information Poor
The information rich have access to information and
information technology equipment such as many TV and radio channels, books,
newspapers and journals, and of course computers and the World Wide Web. The
information rich also have the knowledge to use the technology to obtain
information to help them make informed decisions.
The information poor tend to not have access to the Web or any means of
gaining information such as books, newspapers, journals and probably find it
difficult to access relevant books and journals. Even in general conversations
a discussion about a TV programmer shown on satellite TV will be lost on people
who only have 4 or 5 terrestrial channels. The information poor may lack the
skills or knowledge to access information.
The phrases “information rich and “information poor” need to be more
precisely defined if this point is to be developed.
“Information rich” is taken to mean a country, an organization or an
individual with information which is needed to carry out the task at hand.
“Information poor” can then be defined in opposite and negative terms to
describe those who lack information.
Coca cola is
another good example of a company which is information rich because they are
able to get useful information and use the information to effectively produce
enough drinks for their customers. They also use the information they receive
to create competition for their competitive companies by marketing and
advertising in different ways which they use to pull closer their customers.
They can also be recognized and “information rich” because they information they
receive also helps them in good decision making e.g. where to build or run
manufacturing houses and places for distribution. Also it helps them in
deciding what amount or quantity required to put in their drinks.
Important note
There is a real problem. We must never fall into the error of assuming
that information can be provided only if we have access to computer-based
information systems.
Nevertheless, such systems do play a key role in making information
available in the industrialized and countries, and the endurance that is
economically significant is overwhelming.
In conclusion
This suggests the depressing conclusion that the gap between information
rich (wealth) and information poverty (poor) is widening rather than narrowing
as the digital divide in the industrialized countries leaps even ahead of that
elsewhere.
References
post written by Komolafe Oyindamola
