The information society—idea or entity?

Whereas it has been commonplace over the years to describe societies as for example, agrarian or industrial, democratic or totalitarian, socialist or capitalist, it is scarcely surprising that an increasingly popular term today is that of the ‘information society’. In this everyday context, with no deeper meaning either inferred nor intended, the term is simply a form of linguistic shorthand. As such it has acquired a fair amount of currency and even, a certain validity, although this in itself counts for little in terms of overall sociological meaning or significance.