Lesson 6.

The Information Age

A-Learning Outcomes
At the end of the chapter, students are expected to:

1. Apply the Communication Model of Shannon and Weaver.

2. Evaluate fake news.
3. Express opinions on how Information Age affects society.

B-Time Allotment
Week 4, Day 7: (1 hour and 30 minutes)

C-Discussion

Information Age

The Information Age period began in the last quarter of the 20th century when
information was available because of technological development. Also, it is a period in human
history characterized by the shift from traditional industry to an information technology-based
economy brought by industrialization during the industrial revolution.

The definition of what digital means (or what information means) continues to change
as new technologies, user devices, and interaction methods with other people and devices enter
the domain of research, development, and market launch.

The Communication Model

Claude E. Shannon is known as the "Father of Information Theory," Shannon demonstrated
how information media transmitted information using a single framework.

Information Age is coupled tightly with the advent of personal computers, but many computer
historians trace its beginnings to
the work of the American
mathematicians Claude E.
Shannon. Together with Warren
Weaver, they published a
landmark paper proposing that
information can be quantitatively
encoded as a series of ones and
zeroes.

The two of them developed the

Communication Model

• Sender (Information
source) is the person who
makes the message,
chooses the channel, and Image courtesy of www.communicationtheory.org
sends the message.
• Encoder (Transmitter) is the sender using a machine that converts the message into
signals or binary data. It might also directly refer to the machine.

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 • Channel is the medium used to send a message.
• Decoder (Receiver) is the machine that converts signals or binary data into a message,
or the receiver translates the message from signals.
• Receiver (Destination) is the person who gets the message or the place where the
message must reach. Then, the receiver provides feedback according to the message.
• Noise is the physical disturbances like environment, people, etc. which do not let the
message get to the receiver as what is sent

Practical Example of Shannon-Weaver Model of Communication:

Layla called Miya through a telephone, saying, "Bring me a glass of water." During his
call, a noise appeared, a distorted voice caused by a transmission error that made Miya only
hear "Bring me." Again, Miya asked Layla, "what do you want, Layla?"

In this case, the following elements are simplified.

Sender : Thomson
Encoder : Telephone (Cecilion)
Channel : Telephone Cable
Noise : Distorted voice caused by a transmission error
Decoder : Telephone (Camilla)
Receiver : Assistant.

Reflection: Due to the transmission error or noise, Camilla did not understand the message
from Cecilion.

Media in the Digital Age

Media refers to the means of communication that uses tools to interconnect people.
The forms of media include television, radio, cellular phones, and the internet (which involves
the access and use of various social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.). In
the digital age, media can be considered the message, the medium, and the messenger.

The Message

Media is considered the message itself for those who create and own the rights of the
content. The forms of content can be user-generated or professionally produced. User-
generated content (UGC) is a form of content created and owned by the users of a system.
It has grown rampantly, especially with wide internet coverage or WiFi access, increased social
media participation, and smart devices.

Media Tools to Generate Content.

A blog is a combination of web and log. It works the same way as pen and paper;
however, its privacy becomes irrelevant given that a blog post can be seen by anyone online. A
person who writes blogs is called a blogger

Recently, blogs have evolved into microblogs and video blogs.

Microblog refers to posting very short entries on a blog or social media website, such
as a brief update or a photo (Microblog, 2020). It has become popular due to the rise of Tumblr
and Twitter, in which users instantly share limited content or short messages.

Vlog stands for a video blog or video log. It is a set of videos someone regularly posts
on the internet, either from their thoughts or experiences or talking about a subject (Vlog,
2020).

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 Vlogger is a person who regularly posts short videos on the internet (Vlogger, 2020).

Evolution of Media

The media has transformed itself based on two things:

1. How information is presented

2. How the connection is established.

Printing on cloth or paper using woodcuts was practiced in the 15th century until
Johannes Gutenberg, 1436, started working on a printing press that used relief printing and a
molding system.

In the 1800s, the telegraph was developed, followed by the telephone, which made two-
way communication possible.

At the beginning of the 1900s, broadcasting and recorded media were introduced.
Electromagnetic spectrum or radio waves were used to transmit radio and television sound and
video.

More technological changes, such as the development of fiber optic cables and faster
microprocessors, accelerated the transmission and processing of information. As
communication devices also revolved and became pervasive, so did information distribution.

The World Wide Web, used initially by companies as an electronic billboard for their
products and services, morphed into an interactive consumer exchange for goods and
information.

Electronic mail (email), which permitted the near-instant exchange of information, was
widely adopted as the primary platform for workplace and personal communications.

The digitization of information has had a profound impact on traditional media

businesses, such as book publishing, the music industry, and recently on television and cable
networks.

The current Information Age has spawned its breed of wealthy influential brokers, from
Microsoft's Bill Gates to Apple's Steve Jobs to Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg. In line with this
development, regardless of their professions, the audience can now interact with one another
and are no longer disconnected. New sites can even get news stories, for example, on Twitter or
other social media sites.

One of the disadvantages of technology as a medium of information dissemination is

that it becomes a gateway to transmitting fake information since everyone can now post
anything on the internet.

How to Spot Fake News

With this, there are Areas to be checked on how to spot fake news based on the article
"How to Spot Fake News" by Kiely & Robertson (2016).

• Consider the source. Click away from the story to investigate the site or the
person, its mission, and its contact info.
• Check the author. Do a quick search on the author. Are they credible? Are they
real?
• Check the date. Reposting old news stories doesn't mean they're relevant to current
events.
• Check your biases. Consider if your own beliefs could affect your judgment.

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 • Read beyond. Headlines can be outrageous to get clicks. What's the whole story?
• Supporting sources? Click on those links. Determine if the info is given to support
the story.
• Is it a joke? If it is too outlandish, it might be satire. Research the site and author to
be sure.
• Ask the experts. Ask a librarian, or consult a fact-checking site.

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