--- title: "Compare industrial age and information age" subject: "Technology, Environment and Society" chapter: 1 key: "semester_7/technology_environment_and_society:compare-industrial-info-age" source: https://www.bctengineer.com/q/semester_7/technology_environment_and_society/compare-industrial-info-age site: BCT Engineering --- # Compare industrial age and information age Technology, Environment and Society · Chapter 1: Technology - Asked in: 2071 Chaitra, 4 marks; 2070 Chaitra, 4 marks (asked 2 times) - Video: [Three different ages in Centuries , Agrarian Age, Industrial Age and information Age, Why to Learn](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khjKBWEs1Vo) — ALI AKBAR REAL MENTOR - AARM - Answer checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort) on 2026-10-14 - Page: https://www.bctengineer.com/q/semester_7/technology_environment_and_society/compare-industrial-info-age - Whole chapter: https://www.bctengineer.com/md/semester_7/technology_environment_and_society/chapter-1 ## Question Compare and contrast industrial age and information age. ## Short answer Both ages were triggered by technological revolutions, raised productivity, and shifted employment. However, the industrial age depended on machines and capital for standardised factory production while the information age centres on knowledge, digital tools, and customised services. Industrial wealth came from owning land/factories; information wealth from data and ideas. ## Answer The **industrial age** (late 18th century to about the 1970s) was based on machines, factories and fossil fuel; the **information age** (since about the 1970s) is based on computers, the internet and knowledge. #### Similarities (comparison) - Both were started by a technological revolution (steam engine; microprocessor and internet). - Both increased productivity and shifted workers from one sector to another. - Both changed family structure, culture and lifestyle and caused urbanisation. - Both created new inequalities (factory owners vs workers; digital divide). #### Contrast | Basis | Industrial age | Information age | |---|---|---| | Key resource | Capital, machines, raw materials | Information and knowledge | | Technology | Steam engine, electricity, assembly line | Computer, internet, mobile, AI | | Energy | Coal, oil | Electricity, increasingly renewable | | Workers | Manual, blue-collar | Knowledge workers | | Production | Mass, standardised | Customised, services | | Organisation | Centralised, hierarchical | Networked, flat | | Workplace | Factory, fixed hours | Anywhere, flexible | | Market | National | Global, online | | Wealth from | Ownership of land/factories | Ownership of data, ideas, patents | | Environmental issue | Smoke, industrial pollution | E-waste, data-centre energy | Example: a textile mill employing thousands of workers is typical of the industrial age, while an online platform such as an e-commerce or ride-sharing app, run by a small team of engineers, is typical of the information age. ## Check yourself The answer's key points as multiple-choice questions, with the correct option and why. 1. Which is a similarity between the two ages? A. Both depend mainly on coal B. Both had no effect on family structure C. Both avoided inequality D. Both were started by a technological revolution and increased productivity and urbanisation Answer: D. Both started with revolutions (steam engine; microprocessor and internet), shifted workers between sectors, and created new inequalities. (Key point: Similarities) 2. What is the main source of wealth in each age? A. Industrial: ownership of land and factories; Information: ownership of data, ideas and patents B. Industrial: data; Information: land C. Both: land D. Industrial: patents; Information: coal Answer: A. Industrial wealth came from owning land and factories, information-age wealth from data, ideas and patents. (Key point: Wealth source) 3. What is the typical environmental issue of the information age? A. Smoke and industrial pollution B. Coal mining only C. E-waste and data-centre energy use D. None Answer: C. Smoke and industrial pollution belong to the industrial age; e-waste and data-centre energy to the information age. (Key point: Environmental issue) 4. Which is typical of the information age? A. A textile mill employing thousands B. An online ride-sharing app run by a small team of engineers C. A coal-fired steam engine D. An assembly line with fixed hours Answer: B. Online platforms run by small teams are the information-age example; a textile mill is industrial. (Key point: Example) ## Related in Technology, Environment and Society - [Industrial vs information age; information as wealth](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Ftechnology_environment_and_society%3Aindustrial-vs-info-age-wealth) — Technology, Environment and Society, chapter 1, asked 2× - [Characteristics of agriculture, industrial and information age](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Ftechnology_environment_and_society%3Aagriculture-industrial-info-age) — Technology, Environment and Society, chapter 1 - [Information age characteristics and unmasking social problems](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Ftechnology_environment_and_society%3Ainfo-age-unmask-problems) — Technology, Environment and Society, chapter 1 - [Information age and digital technology against COVID-19](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Ftechnology_environment_and_society%3Ainfo-age-covid-digital) — Technology, Environment and Society, chapter 1 - [Knowledge and characteristics of information age](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Ftechnology_environment_and_society%3Aknowledge-info-age-characteristics) — Technology, Environment and Society, chapter 1 - [Short note: Information age](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Ftechnology_environment_and_society%3Ainformation-age-note) — Technology, Environment and Society, chapter 1 ## Related in other subjects - [Compare and contrast pollution in a city](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_5%2Fcommunication_english%3Acompare-contrast-pollution-city-nepal) — Communication English, chapter 1