Vladyslav Bobyr
Mar 6, 2021
Information is tightly woven into the fabric of modern society. Various aspects of every-day life are transforming together with technological development.
Here are some thoughts about the deep interconnection between modern social transformations and cryptocurrency.
The information society (IS) can be considered as a new stage in the development of human society, as well as socio-economic relations. In this is a type of society, information is produced and transferred more intensely than ever before. Sometimes, the term is used interchangeably with post-industrial society.
So what makes information society different? In a nutshell, the determinant role of information. IT plays an enormous role in various aspects of every-day life and more people are involved in the production and distribution of information. Social media is a great example of such processes within an information society.
In general, the formation of the phenomenon of the information society can be associated with the emergence and spread of the Internet in the second half of the 20th century.
The information society is a multidimensional phenomenon. In other words, there are many things you should take into account while analyzing processes within an information society. Such things include:
The presence of these and other factors suggests that the information society is a complex phenomenon that requires a thorough multidisciplinary approach. That is an approach that takes into account the different structural components of IS and the relationships within it.
From a certain perspective, information society can be understood as a network society. Manuel Castells was among those who made a significant contribution to the study of the network society in his works.
The network society is based on horizontal social connections and the main role here is played not by hierarchical models, but by social networks. Modern communications, especially the Internet, play a significant role in the formation of the network society.
In this new type of society, the social structure is formed by individuals, communities, or organizations instead of governments. Such processes reflect the various connections through a variety of social relationships.
As mentioned above, the information society includes the participation of a wider range of people in the production, exchange, and consumption of information (including financial data). So the use of digital currency correlates with the ideas of this type of society.
However, cryptocurrency took one step further. Instead of just digitalizing the traditional financial system, cryptocurrency allows creating something entirely new. Cryptocurrency is not just about transferring information between banks and customers. Blockchain creates technological capabilities for creating a payment system without a central authority. In other words, a financial network.
Now let's sum up the main ideas. The concept of decentralized digital money fits with the ideas of information and network societies. Blockchain technology introduces a new way to produce, exchange, and record information related to financial transactions. Blockchain allows verifying transactions without a centralized authority, which is a way to establish and maintain horizontal economic relations in the information society. Somehow futuristic, isn't it? So was the Internet itself.