Book dossier

Tendencies and tensions of the information age

by Jorge Reina Schement, Terry Curtis

The development of technology and the hunger for information has caused a wave of change in daily life in America. Nearly every American's environment now consists of cable television, video cassette players, answering machines, fax machines, and personal computers. Schement and Curtis argue that the information age did not evolve suddenly, but gradually throughout the twentieth century. They contend that national focus on the production and distribution of information stems directly from the organizing principles and realities of the market system, not from a revolution sparked by the invention of the computer. The first section examines the idea of information, showing that its origins reach back to the emergence of European culture. The second, large segment addresses theories in competition and analyzes the relationship between industrial society and information society. Much of the book is devoted to exploring how information infiltrates both professional and and personal lives. Schement and Curtis end by reviewing images of the information society, and offering a framework about its development and impact. Tendencies and Tensions of the Information Age brings together findings from many disciplines including classical studies, etymology, political sociology, and macroeconomics. It provides a useful study on the current dominance of technology and communication in the United States. This valuable resource will be enjoyed by sociologists, historians, and scholars of communication and information studies.