---
title: "Industrial society entering information society"
subject: "Technology, Environment and Society"
chapter: 3
key: "semester_7/technology_environment_and_society:industrial-to-info-society"
source: https://www.bctengineer.com/q/semester_7/technology_environment_and_society/industrial-to-info-society
site: BCT Engineering
---

# Industrial society entering information society

Technology, Environment and Society · Chapter 3: Brief History of Human Civilization

- Asked in: 2078 Bhadra; 2074 Chaitra, 8 marks (asked 2 times)
- 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/industrial-to-info-society
- Whole chapter: https://www.bctengineer.com/md/semester_7/technology_environment_and_society/chapter-3

## Question

Discuss the characteristics of information society. How has industrial society entered into information society?

## Short answer

An information society is one where information is the main resource, most workers are knowledge workers, ICT is pervasive, and globalization, networked work, digital divide and new problems appear. It emerged as manufacturing saturated, electronics and computers developed, the internet grew, services expanded, and globalization shifted factories.

## Answer

An **information society** is a society in which the creation, distribution and use of information is the main economic, social and cultural activity, and most people work with information rather than producing goods. It began in developed countries after about the 1960s–70s with computers and grew rapidly with the internet from the 1990s.

#### Characteristics of information society

- **Information as main resource** – knowledge and data, not land or machines, are the key source of wealth and power.
- **Knowledge workers** – most jobs are in services: IT, banking, education, health, research, media.
- **ICT everywhere** – computers, internet, mobile phones and cloud services connect people and businesses.
- **Globalisation** – instant communication, global trade, outsourcing and e-commerce.
- **Networked, flexible work** – remote work, gig economy, flexible hours.
- **Fast change and innovation** – short product life, lifelong learning needed.
- **Digital divide** – gap between those who have access and skills and those who do not.
- **New problems** – privacy, cyber crime, misinformation, information overload.

#### How industrial society entered into information society

1. **Saturation of manufacturing** – after World War II, factories in developed countries became highly automated; fewer workers were needed to produce goods, and labour moved to services.
2. **Electronics revolution** – the transistor (1947), integrated circuit (1958) and microprocessor (1971) made computers small and cheap.
3. **Computers in business and government** – mainframes and later personal computers (1980s) took over record keeping, banking, design and control.
4. **Telecommunication and the internet** – satellites, optical fibre, ARPANET (1969), the World Wide Web (1991) and mobile phones linked the world.
5. **Growth of the service sector** – finance, insurance, education, health, media and software grew larger than manufacturing in GDP and employment.
6. **Education and research** – mass higher education produced knowledge workers; R&D became a key investment.
7. **Globalisation** – industries shifted factories to low-wage countries while rich countries kept design, finance and information work.
8. **Government policy** – deregulation of telecom, investment in IT infrastructure and digital governance.

```text
Agricultural  -->  Industrial  -->  Information
 (land,labour)    (machines,      (knowledge,
                   capital)        ICT, data)
                  ~1760-1950      ~1970 onward
```

| Point | Industrial society | Information society |
|---|---|---|
| Main resource | Capital, machines, energy | Information, knowledge |
| Main workers | Factory workers | Knowledge workers |
| Product | Goods | Services, data |
| Technology | Steam, electricity | Computers, internet |
| Organisation | Centralised, hierarchical | Networked, flexible |

The transition was not sudden: industry still exists, but information technology now controls and adds value to it (e.g. automated, computer-controlled factories).

## Check yourself

The answer's key points as multiple-choice questions, with the correct option and why.

1. What is the main resource in an information society?
   A. Information and knowledge
   B. Land
   C. Machines and fossil fuel
   D. Physical labour
   Answer: A. Creation and use of information is the main economic activity. (Key point: Information society)

2. What is the digital divide?
   A. Division of data into binary digits
   B. Difference between analog and digital signals
   C. The gap between those who have access and skills for ICT and those who do not
   D. Gap between rich and poor countries' GDP only
   Answer: C. It is listed as a characteristic and problem of the information society. (Key point: Digital divide)

3. Why did labour move from factories to services in the shift to an information society?
   A. Factories were banned by governments
   B. Highly automated factories needed fewer workers and the service sector grew
   C. Raw materials ran out
   D. Workers refused factory jobs for religious reasons
   Answer: B. Saturation and automation of manufacturing moved labour to services. (Key point: Shift of labour)

4. Which sequence of technology made computers small and cheap?
   A. Steam engine, telegraph, radio
   B. Microprocessor (1947), transistor (1958), IC (1971)
   C. Printing press, telescope, steam engine
   D. Transistor (1947), integrated circuit (1958), microprocessor (1971)
   Answer: D. These electronic inventions drove computerisation and the information society. (Key point: Electronics revolution)

## Related in Technology, Environment and Society

- [Agricultural society entering information society](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Ftechnology_environment_and_society%3Aagricultural-to-info-society) — Technology, Environment and Society, chapter 3
- [Civilization: agricultural, industrial, information society](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Ftechnology_environment_and_society%3Aenlighten-civilization-societies) — Technology, Environment and Society, chapter 3
- [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
- [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×
- [Compare industrial age and information age](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Ftechnology_environment_and_society%3Acompare-industrial-info-age) — Technology, Environment and Society, chapter 1, asked 2×
- [Hurdles in industrial to information transition](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Ftechnology_environment_and_society%3Ahurdles-industrial-info-transition) — Technology, Environment and Society, chapter 3

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