MODULE 6

The Information Age

Objectives

1. Trace the development of the information age from the pre-mechanical

age up to the evolution of social media.
2. Describe the main generations of digital computing from use of vacuum
tubes up to artificial intelligence.
3. Discuss how the social media and the information age have impacted
our society.
4. Analyze the ways in which the people can develop and sustain a
civilized online environment or personal relationship.
5. Enumerate the following Netiquettes to develop and maintain online
experiences.

A. Development of the Information age

People are now living in a society where the internet, computers and
smartphones have become essential parts of their everyday lives for
immediate accessing and sharing of information. People are now in the
Information Age, also known as Computer Age, Digital Age, or New Media
Age. According to Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Information Age is
the modern age regarded as a time in which information has become a
commodity that is quickly and widely disseminated and easily available
especially through the use of computer technology.

Information Age is the period where people can best be characterized

as highly technologically advanced, and internet and data communication
minded. The people’s way of living changed greatly from Renaissance period
when they began to write realistic books and not just religious stories to
Industrial Revolution period, when major changes happened in agriculture,
manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology. This is the period
when digital technologies have changed every aspect of people’s lives; from
the way they work and learn to the way they play and socialize. People now
can access information with the touch of a button. They can do almost
everything online; communicating, shopping, paying, working, educating or
learning, watching entertainment, booking, or even ordering food. These
technological advancements have profoundly impacted the society and its
environment; the social, economic, and cultural conditions, science, research,
and industries including but not limited to healthcare, education, finance,
entertainment, transportation, and media and communications.

History

Information Age is tightly attached to the advent of personal computers

but many computer historians tracked its beginnings to the research, A
Mathematical Theory of Communication conducted by Claude E. Shannon, a
researcher and mathematician, and also know as the "Father of Information
Theory." This study proposed that information can be digitized or
quantitatively encoded as a series of ones and zeroes. It showed how all
information media, from telephone signals to radio waves to television, could
be transmitted without error using this single framework.

The digitization of information gave way for rapid development of

modernized equipment, fiber optic cables and faster microprocessors,
accelerated communication and information processing, World Wide Web,
email and mobile technology. As information is increasingly described in
digital form, businesses across many industries have sharpened their focus
on how to capitalize on the Information Age.

Information Technology

Information technology (IT) has always been around from the

beginning of time. People needed to communicate and socialize with each
other to grow. The system of information - the storing, retrieving,
manipulating, and communicating information has been in place since the
Sumerians in Mesopotamia developed writing in 3000 BC. Information
technology, in the modern sense is defined as the use of any computers,
storage, networking and other physical devices, infrastructure and processes
to create, process, store, secure and exchange all forms of electronic data.
Typically, IT is used in the context of enterprise operations as opposed to
personal or entertainment technologies.
The term information technology was coined by the Harvard Business
Review in order to make a distinction between purpose-built machines
designed to perform a limited scope of functions and general-purpose
computing machines that could be programmed for various tasks. As the IT
industry evolved from the mid-20thcentury, computing capability advanced
while device cost and energy consumption fell lower, a cycle that continues
today when new technologies emerge.

Evolution of Information Technology:

1) Premechanical Age (between 3000BC and 1450AD)

The premechanical age is the earliest age characterized by
using of language or simple picture drawings known as petroglyths
usually carved in rock. Early alphabets were developed such as the
Phoenician alphabet.
 Courtesy of https://www.williamhortonphotography.com

Petroglyph

The popularity of alphabets led the way for development of pens

and paper. It started off as just marks in wet clay, but later paper was
created out of papyrus plant. As information grew, people realized the
importance of organizing and storing them in permanent storage. First
books were written and kept in libraries. Egyptian scrolls and book-like
binding of paper were popular ways of writing down information to
save.
This period was also marked by the development of the first numbering
systems. The first 1 – 9 system was created in 100AD; and the number
0 was invented and added in 875AD. This was followed by the
invention of calculator, then known as abacus. This was the very first
sign of information processor.
.
2) Mechanical (between 1450 and 1840)
Development of new technologies emerged and invented like
the slide rule, an analog computer used for multiplying and dividing.
Blaise Pascal invented the Pascaline, a very popular mechanical
computer. Charles Babbage developed the difference engine which
tabulated polynomial equations using the method of finite differences.
 Courtesy of https://www.britannica.com. Difference Engine

3) Electromechanical (1840 -1940)

The period marked the beginning of telecommunication.
Inventions and innovations continued. The telegraph was created in the
early 1800s. Morse code was created by Samuel Morse in 1835. The
telephone was created by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876. The first
radio was developed by Guglielmo Marconi in 1894. These emerging
technologies led to bigger advances in the information technology field.

Courtesy of sites.harvard.edu
Harvard Mark 1

The first large-scale automatic digital computer in the United

States was the Mark 1 created by Harvard University around 1940.
This computer was 8ft high, 50ft long, 2ft wide, and weighed 5 tons. It
was programmed using punch cards.

4) Electronic (1940 – present)

The ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) was
the first high-speed, digital computer capable of being reprogrammed to
solve a full range of computing problems. This computer was designed
to be used by the U.S. Army for artillery firing tables. This machine was
even bigger than the Mark 1 taking up 680 square feet and weighing 30
tons. It mainly used vacuum tubes to do its calculations.
 Courtesy of pinterest.com

ENIAC

B. Main Generations of Digital Computing

There are five main generations of digital computing.

1. The first generation (1942 -1955) used vacuum tubes. This period
marked the beginning of commercial computer age
via UNIVAC (Universal Automatic Computer), the first
commercially available computer. It was developed by two
scientists Mauchly and Echert at the Census Department of
United States in 1947. Examples of first generation computers
are ENIVAC and UNIVAC-1.
2. The second generation (1955 -1964) used transistors. The
scientists at Bell laboratories developed transistor in 1947.
These scientists include John Barden, William Brattain and
William Shockley. The size of the computers was decreased by
replacing vacuum tubes with transistors. The examples of
second generation computers are IBM 7094 series, IBM 1400
series and CDC 164 etc.
3. The third generation (1964 – 1975) used the integrated circuits
(IC). Jack Kilby developed the concept of integrated circuit in
1958. It was an important invention in the computer field. The
first IC was invented and used in 1961. The size of an IC is
about ¼ square inch. A single IC chip may contain thousands of
transistors. The computer became smaller in size, faster, more
reliable and less expensive. The examples of third generation
computers are IBM 370, IBM System/360, UNIVAC
1108 and UNIVAC AC 9000.
4. The fourth generation (1975 – present) computers started with
the invention of Microprocessor. The Microprocessor contains
thousands of ICs. Ted Hoff produced the first microprocessor in
1971 for Intel. It was known as Intel 4004. The technology of
integrated circuits improved rapidly. The LSI (Large Scale
Integration) circuit and VLSI (Very Large Scale Integration)
circuit was designed. It greatly reduced the size of computer.
 The size of modern Microprocessors is usually one square inch.
It can contain millions of electronic circuits. The examples of
fourth generation computers are Apple Macintosh &IBM PC.

Courtesy of oldcomputers.net

Apple 2

5. The fifth generation (Present and beyond) computers are based

on the technique of Artificial Intelligence (AI). They can
understand spoken words and imitate human reasoning. They
can respond to its surroundings using different types of sensors.
Scientists are constantly working to increase the processing
power of computers. They are trying to create a computer with
real IQ with the help of advanced programming and
technologies. IBM Watson supercomputer is an example of fifth
generation computer. It combines artificial intelligence (AI) and
sophisticated analytical software for optimal performance as a
"question answering" machine. The supercomputer is named
after IBM's founder, Thomas J. Watson. The Watson
supercomputer processes at a rate of 80 teraflops (trillion
floating point operations per second). To replicate (or surpass) a
high-functioning human's ability to answer questions, Watson
accesses 90 servers with a combined data store of over 200
million pages of information, which it processes against six
million logic rules. The system and its data are self-contained in
a space that could accommodate 10 refrigerators.
Courtesy of Hexus.net Courtesy of livemint.com
Today’s PC IBM Watson

Inventions do not generally happen by accident or in a random order.

Chris Woodford, a British Science writer and consultant explained that
science and technology progress in a very logical way, with each new
discovery leading on from the last.

C. Social Media and the Information Age

Computer

If there is one important development in the Information Age, it is the

invention of computer. A computer is a machine or device that performs
processes, calculations and operations based on instructions provided by a
software or hardware program. It is designed to execute applications and
provides a variety of solutions by combining integrated hardware and software
components.

Types of Computer

Since the advent of the first computer different types and sizes of computers
are offering different services. Computers can be as big as occupying a large
building and as small as a laptop or a microcontroller in mobile and embedded
systems. The byte-notes.com enumerates the four basic types of computers:

1) Supercomputer -
The most powerful computers in terms of performance and data
processing are the Supercomputers. These are specialized and task
specific computers used by large organizations. These computers are
used for research and exploration purposes, like NASA uses
supercomputers for launching space shuttles, controlling them and for
space exploration purpose. The supercomputers are very expensive
 and very large in size. It can be accommodated in large air-conditioned
rooms; some super computers can span an entire building.

Uses of Supercomputers:

• Space Exploration
o Supercomputers are used to study the origin of the universe,
the dark-matters. For these studies scientist use IBM’s
powerful supercomputer “Roadrunner” at National Laboratory
Los Alamos.
• Earthquake Studies
o Supercomputers are used to study the Earthquakes
phenomenon. Besides that supercomputers are used for
natural resources exploration, like natural gas, petroleum,
coal, etc.
• Weather Forecasting
o Supercomputers are used for weather forecasting, and to
study the nature and extent of Hurricanes, Rainfalls,
windstorms, etc.
• Nuclear Weapons Testing
o Supercomputers are used to run weapon simulation that can
test the Range, accuracy & impact of Nuclear weapons.

2) Mainframe Computer-
Mainframes are not as powerful as supercomputers, but many large
firms & government organizations use this type of computer to run their
business operations. Because of size, the mainfram computers can be
accommodated in large air-conditioned rooms. They can process and
store large amount of data. Banks, big educational institutions and
insurance companies use mainframe computers to store data about
their customers, students & insurance policy holders.

3) Minicomputer –
Minicomputers are used by small businesses & firms. They are also
called “Midrange Computers”. These are small machines and can be
accommodated on a disk with not as processing and data storage
capabilities as super-computers & Mainframes. These computers are
not designed for a single user. Individual departments of a large
company or organizations use Mini-computers for specific purposes.
For example, a production department can use Mini-computers for
monitoring certain production process.

4) Microcomputer –
Desktop computers, personal computers (PCs), laptops, personal
digital assistant (PDA), tablets, and smartphones are all types of
microcomputers. The micro-computers are widely used and the fastest
growing computers. These computers are the cheapest among the
other three types of computers. They are specially designed for general
 usage like entertainment, education and work purposes. Well known
manufacturers of Micro-computer are Dell, Apple, Samsung, Sony, and
Toshiba.

Influences of the Past on Information Age:

The past has greatly influenced the Information Age. The Renaissance
Age created the idea inventions, while too advanced for the time, the basic
idea was used to develop modern inventions. The Renaissance also changed
literature. At first, only books that told stories of religion and religious heroes
were written. During the Renaissance, people began to write realistic books
and not just religious stories. People’s mindset about themselves changed. It
was no longer about what humans could do for God, but what humans could
do for themselves. This way of thinking is called humanism.

The Scientific Revolution changed the modern era by introducing

important scientists such as Galileo, Copernicus, and Sir Isaac Newton. Their
discoveries paved the way for modern tools, inventions, and innovations.
The Industrial Revolution brought about major changes in agriculture,
manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology. This era has profound
effect on the social, economic, and cultural conditions of the world.

Internet Technology

In 1960, the first practical prototype of the Internet came about through
the creation of ARPANET, or the Advanced Research Projects Agency
Network. Originally funded by the U.S. Department of Defense, ARPANET
used packet switching to allow multiple computers to communicate on a single
network. The technology continued to grow in the 1970s after scientists
Robert Kahn and Vinton Cerf developed Transmission Control Protocol and
Internet Protocol, or TCP/IP, a communications model that set standards for
how data could be transmitted between multiple networks. In 1971, Ray
Tomlinson invented and developed what is called electronic mail or email
today, by creating ARPANET’s networked email system. The concept of
nearly instantaneous communication between machines within an
organization proved to be so beneficial and practical that the concept soon
began to spread. In 1983, ARPANET adopted TCP/IP, through which
researchers assembled the “network of networks” that became the modern
Internet. Over the next few years, America Online (AOL), Echomail, Hotmail
and Yahoo shaped the Internet and email landscape. The online world then
took on a more recognizable form in 1990, when computer scientist Tim
Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web. While it’s often confused with the
Internet itself, the web is actually just the most common means of accessing
data online in the form of websites and hyperlinks. The web helped popularize
the Internet among the public, and served as a crucial step in developing the
vast trove of information that most of us now access on a daily basis.
Social Media

Since the birth of Internet and WWW, social media platforms

continuously evolve (i.e., AOL, Yahoo messenger, bulletin board forum
systems, game-based social networking sites, FaceBook, Myspace, Viber,
Skype, etc.) Social media is understood as the different forms of online
communication used by people to create networks, communities, and
collectives to share information, ideas, messages, and other content, such as
videos. It has become an integral part of people’s lives. They use it to connect
with friends and family, to catch up on current events, and, perhaps most
importantly, to entertain themselves.

Cyberbullying

With the rapid increase in internet and social media usage, cyberbullying
has become a major concern in many countries, including the Philippines.
Cyberbullying refers to the use of electronic communication to harass,
intimidate, or humiliate someone, often anonymously.

To protect the victims of cyberbullying in the Philippines, Anti-Cybercrime

Law, also known as Republic Act No. 10175 is formed and implemented. It
criminalizes various cyberbullying offenses, including cyberstalking, cybersex,
identity theft, and online libel. This law imposes penalties, including
imprisonment and fines, for individuals found guilty of committing these
offenses.

Cyberstalking involves using the internet or other electronic

communication devices to follow or harass someone, causing fear or distress.
Cybersex refers to the use of electronic communication to solicit or participate
in sexual activity. Identity theft involves the unauthorized use of someone
else's personal information for financial gain. Online libel refers to the
publication of defamatory statements online.

Internet Etiquette (Netiquette)

To develop and maintain a conducive online experience, Internet

etiquette, also known as Netiquette, must be observed. Thesupruce.com
enumerates the following Netiquettes:

1. Be nice.
The first rule of internet etiquette is to be kind and courteous.
Remember that whatever you send from your keyboard or your phone is
still an extension of you, even though you're not with others in person.
Never flame or rant in public forum. Avoid gossiping and cyber bullying.
2. Learn Internet acronyms.
As communication on the Internet explodes, so does the use of
acronyms (i.e. BTW, TTYL, LOL, ROTFL, POV, B4N, … etc.)
 Learn what they mean so you won’t misunderstand messages and
comments.
3. Keep messages and posts brief.
Most people use the Internet to save time, so honor that and keep
all messages as brief as possible
4. Don’t shout.
Avoid using all caps in any email or post. It comes across as
shouting, which is rude.

5. Use discretion.
Whether you are sending email, instant messaging, commenting
on Facebook, adding images to Snapchat, or posting a message to your
blog, you need to remember that anything you put on the Internet can be
there forever. Even if you remove the material, someone may have
made a screen shot, copied, or saved it. One rule of thumb many people
use is to never post anything you wouldn’t want your parents or boss to
see.
6. Protect personal information.
Since anything you post on the Internet is out there for all to see,
avoid adding anything personal. This includes your address, phone
number, social security number, and driver’s license information. You
don’t want to make things easy for identity thieves, burglars, and
predators.
7. Obey copyright laws.
Never copy someone else’s work and post it as your own. It is
against copyright law because it is considered stealing. It is always a
good idea to ask permission before quoting anyone, but that isn’t always
possible. To quote someone, keep the quote short, cite the source, and
put a link to the complete written work.
8. Protect children
If you allow children to access the Internet, make sure you know
what sites they visit and who their “friends” are.
9. Before you click “Send”,
It is always a good idea to reread anything you type before
clicking the “send” button. If you have time, step away for a few minutes
and come back to it with fresh eyes. For those times when you need to
post quickly, at least check your spelling, grammar, and tone of the
message. If it is late at night, and you are extremely tired, it’s probably
best to wait until the next morning. You can save most messages and
posts in draft mode.
10. Help others
If someone appears to be new to the internet, offer your
assistance. Share information on proper etiquette, send them a link to a
list of the most common acronyms and emoticons, and offer to answer
any questions until they get the hang of it. After you see that someone
has posted something inappropriate, let him or her know privately. Never
do anything to publicly embarrass anyone you know online.
11. Internet trolls
Keep in mind that there are internet trolls out there, looking for
their next victim. If you become the subject of their bad behavior, don't
respond. Most of the time, these people like to stir things up while hiding
behind their keyboards. When they don't get a reaction, they move on to
someone else.
However, if it continues and you feel as though you are being
threatened, contact the authorities. You need to make sure you protect
yourself and your family.
Name: Jullana Ashley A. Aguba
Course: BSA 1-5

Activity No. 6

Reflection Paper:

1. As a student at the University of Batangas, explain your

reflections on the ways youth use social media in their daily
activities.
• As a student I think that nowadays youth use social media in
different ways for their daily activities. Some uses it in a positive
way some in negative way. We can’t deny that lots of youths
today are not well educated in using social media, they tend to
maneuver it in such ways that they don’t think on what to post or
not and that’s some of the negative ways. While some youths
use social media as a platform to raise awareness in some
particular topic. Other youths can influence one another by
posting these platforms.

2. How do you describe the impacts brought by social media in the

following sectors:
a. Family – social media has a positive and negative impacts in
families. In the positive side, it enables the family members to
get connected by communicating despite of their distance with
one another. Yet this can also lead to less interactions inside the
house and affect family traditions since lots of them are engage
in using social media.
b. Church – the impact of social media to the church is that they
share sermons and mass through the use of facebook live. This
helps foster the sense of faith in God, sense of community and
engagement among members even though they cannot go to
church physically.
c. Business/Industries – since people who are using social media
is a huge population it became an essential tool for businesses.
They use this as a marketing platform, brand building and
customer engagement. Businesses use this to reach a global
audience and receive a direct customer feedback that help them
improve their products.
d. Educational Institution – Educational institutions uses social
media to share information about what they can offer. They also
uses this as an advertising platform and post their achievements
in academic and non-academic aspects.
3. How can we become responsible users of different social media
platforms?
• We can become responsible users by being aware of the dos and
don’ts in using social media. Before sharing we should first
check if the information is reliable and a fact, we should know
how to identify fake news. We should also think before we post
and think the right usage of words.

4.
a. What are your insights or understandings on cyber
bullying?
- Cyber bullying is a form of bullying that is done through the
use of social media/internet. This has been a persuasive
issue up until today. It involves the repetitive and intentional
targeting of individual or groups to harass, humiliate, or
threaten.
b. Have you experienced it, or do you know someone being
threatened through an online post?
- I haven’t experience it but I know someone that was a victim
of cyber bullying. Some people post her picture without her
consent and made fun of her in one of the social media
platforms.
c. Enumerate ways or give suggestions in order to prevent or
minimize cases of cyber bullying.
- We could prevent or minimize cases of cyber bullying by
having seminars that educate and helps people be aware
about cyber bullying. We should promote on how to be
responsible and respectful in using social media platforms.