THE INFORMATION SOCIETY IN POLAND – THE INDIVIDUALS’ APPROACH

An information society as a sociological concept developed in the 1960s by economists Fritz Machlup and Tadao Umesco as a substitute for an economic counterpart known as the knowledge-based economy. The information society is based on creation, distribution, diffusion, usage, integration and manipulation of information which are significant for a social life and economic, political, as well as cultural activities. Specific to this kind of society is a crucial position information and communication technologies (ICT) have for digital communication skills, exchange of information, education, professional careers and business, and recently including politics. In other words, ICT is a tool that has been engendering new ways of living and working together. Therefore, it is worth to examine whether the Polish individuals (households) are ready enough to benefit from socioeconomic growth brought by the usage of ICT in order to alter life and work styles. The subject of the empirical analysis is a percentage of individuals possessing presumed digital skills, self-assessment of them against a background of the European Union’s inhabitants (EU-27), as well as the ways of digital capabilities’ development. Presented study bases on the hypothesis that the Polish households (individuals) have been making efforts to transform irreversibly their manners of living in virtual reality. Analyzing and concluding are based on the Polish Central Statistical Office reports (GUS) and Eurostat over 20051 – 2008.