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Information Explosion

Sociologist Orrin Klapp (1986) wrote about the information explosion, an unprecedented increase in the amount of stored and transmitted data and messages in all media (including electronic, print, radio, and television).

One can argue that the information explosion began with the invention of the printing press. Internet a computer network linking billions of computers around the world has driven the information explosion.

The Internet has the potential to give users access to every word, image, and sound that has ever been recorded. Internet, has (1) speeded up old ways of doing things, (2) given individuals access to the equivalent of a printing press, (3) allowed users to bypass the formalized hierarchy devoted to controlling the flow of information, (4) changed how students learn, and (5) allowed people around the world to exchange information on and communicate about any topic of interest.

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