The first time: the use of language
The second time: coinage
The third time: the invention of printing
The fourth time: the invention and popularization of telegraph, telephone, radio and television.
The fifth time: the popularization of computer application, the combination of computer and modern communication technology.
Information technology has existed since the formation of human society and is constantly changing with the progress of science and technology. Language and writing are the initial ways for human beings to transmit information, and beacon towers are the simplest means to transmit information over a long distance. Paper and printing have greatly expanded the scope of information circulation. Since the middle of the19th century, when humans learned to use electricity and electromagnetic waves, the change of information technology has been greatly accelerated. The invention of telegraph, telephone, radio and television has made the information exchange and transmission of human beings fast and effective. After World War II, the invention of semiconductors, integrated circuits and computers, and the development of digital communication and satellite communication formed new electronic information technology, which made a qualitative leap in information utilization. Specifically, human beings can not only exchange information accurately in any two places with corresponding facilities in the world, but also use machines to collect, process, process, control and store information. Machines began to replace part of people's mental work, expanding and extending people's thinking, nerve and sensory functions, so that people can engage in more creative work. This is an unprecedented change and a new leap for human beings to transform nature.
The revolution of information technology not only provides new means of production for human beings, but also brings about great development of productive forces and changes in organizational management methods, as well as changes in industrial structure and economic structure. These changes will further cause changes in people's values and social consciousness, so that the social structure and political system will also change. For example, the popularization of computers promoted factory automation, office automation and home automation, and formed the so-called "3A" revolution. The information exchange network formed by the integration of computer and communication technology promotes the internationalization of economy. The global financial information network formed by the financial sector enables funds to overcome the time difference and greatly increase their value through global circulation overnight. Multinational companies control a large part of production and international trade. At the same time, this system also expands people's educational opportunities and enables more people to engage in more creative work. The extensive circulation of information promotes the decentralization of power and the democratization of decision-making. With the improvement of people's education level, more people will participate in various decision-making. The development of this situation will inevitably bring about changes in the social structure. In a word, the appearance and further development of modern information technology will bring great changes to people's mode of production and lifestyle, cause economic and social changes, and make mankind move towards a new civilization.