1.1.5. Electronic Age (Computer And Internet)
The Electronic Age, also commonly known as the Computer Age or Information Era, started in 1990s. The basic feature of this age is the use of digitals ystems to manage(storage and transmission) and process data/information in schools( school records), businesses( business records-sells, transactions etc), government establishments( staff records etc) etc.
1.1.5.1. Electronic Age Tools of the electronic Age
The Electronic Age era witness the invention of the electronic gadgets especially computers- personal computers and the internet. Some of the data and information storage and transmission tools of the electronic age are:
- Internet
- Television
- Radio stations
- Telephone, GSM Handsets.
a. Internet
In the present era you can send or receive text, pictures, videos, over a distance of thousand kilometers- say from Abuja to London, which is over twenty thousand kilometers. Such messages can be transferred in less than one minute if you have a high internet speed.
b. Television
You can listen to news, view videos from international television stations such as BBC, CNN, and Al-Jazira.
c. Radio stations
You can listen to news, music from different radio stations, stationed in different parts of the world- BBC, Voice of America, and France.
d. Telephone, GSM Handsets
You can use your telephone, handset (GSM) to send pictures, videos, music, books etc to your friends, relatives, colleagues in any part of the world.
Similarly, most factories of the electronic age are those that produce digital objects or materials such as computers, CDROMs, digital books or manage data and information on the internet.
EXERCISE
1. What is meant by the Information Ages?
2. Discuss the basic features of each of the information ages.
3. Why is the electronic age considered as the most advanced of all the information ages?