Business

Information Technology. (2001). In World of Sociology, Gale. Retrieved from http://www.credoreference.com/entry/worldsocs/information_technology

Information Technology

Information technology is dedicated to the creation, discovery, distribution, and interpretation of information. Information technology includes developments such as computers and the Internet, as well as the myriad of applications for these developments that allow instant communication of information and automated methods for finding, sorting, and analyzing information. While defining information technology is fairly straightforward, assessing its impact and role in society is considerably more involved.

Societies seek more efficient ways to process information. At the present time, information technology is expanding at unprecedented rates, and an increasing number of people are required to dedicate their work to information related activities in organizations throughout society. Information technology has changed the lives of individuals as well. Cell phones, E-mail, and the Internet have made communication faster and more efficient, though perhaps less personal.

While the historical impact of modern information technology has yet to be determined, many feel that the recent and rapid advances in information technology are nothing short of revolutionary. Some argue that the substantial change in the cost, availability, and quality of information brought about by recent technology advances have profoundly affected our society and economy. In modernized societies, information technology has proliferated to become an increasingly large proportion of the economy. In pre-modern societies, most of the population works to produce food. In industrial societies, technological advances increase productivity, and most people work to produce goods. Post-industrial societies emphasize services as the dominant commodity. Information technology has brought about a new type of socioeconomic era in which...