ABSTRACT
Toffler (1970) defined the term future shock as a perception by individuals and entire societies of “too much change in too short a period of time.” He predicted that the rapid rate of change in a postindustrial society (now called the Information Age) would lead to social fragmentation, increased specialization, and increased differentiation within the society through an exponential growth of information (information overload). Since 1970, increased automation in industry has reduced the demand for low-skill jobs while the increased complexity in other employment areas has raised the skill level needed for most jobs. The net effect has been a rapid demand for educational opportunities to support lifelong learning as adults need to reskill to get jobs. Lifelong learning has become THE survival skill across the entire employment spectrum-there are few cases where one’s knowledge and skills are complete.
