Coping with Information Overload

Tue, Jan 6, 2009

Information overload is very recent but an all too much occurring condition these days and you might not even realize it’s happening to you, but if so, you will realize soon enough. So let’s begin with a brief discussion about what information overload is.

Information overload can be cause by being exposed to too many sources of information which makes it very hard for one to get away from it all and relax, not matter what you do, there’s still someone or something trying to feed you information which may be important or very unimportant, either way there’s too much of it going on. With so much information flying around all vying for your attention, it becomes very difficult to absorb anything and comprehend the new information you are receiving, making decision making and concentration very difficult.

What are the causes of Information Overload?

It truly is a side effect of the modern world full to the brim with new technology, these new devices such as smart mobile phones, multitasking laptops/and or computers, 24/7 high speed broadband, fax machines, mp3 players, games consoles and interactive TV’s make accessing all kind of information too easy. Also it;s very difficult to get away from it all because you are all too easy to access by other people via your computer, mobile phone or fax machine. The rate at which new information can be created and sent is causing some problems, it only takes a couple of minutes for a person to open up their email, write a new message and send it, everything is so instantaneous.

Email’s are definitely one of the major contributing factors to information overload, the sheer amount of information you receive everyday in your inbox can be difficult to comprehend, add to that the fact that you have to filter through the rubbish and find valid emails. Technological advancements which allow you to access news 24/7 via your computer, mobile phone or TV, shop from the comfort of your own home and even order your groceries from your new PlayStation 3 are all contributing to information overload.

Students can often be susceptible to information overload because they generally do have a lot of free time and spend a lot of time in-front of their laptops or computers. Sifting through years of lecture notes and tons of departmental emails can drive one crazy sometimes.

The Effects of Information Overload

Information overload can effect people individually and as a society. Individually it makes decision making for a person very hard because you have so much information streaming in day-by-day, even per hour. It becomes difficult to comprehend what’s real and what’s not.

It can effect society due to the tons of information floating around and the ease of access for everyone these days, with so much different streams of information and so many different people reading different sources of information, it can cause confusion and a problem of information accuracy.

Overcoming Information Overload

Overcoming information overload is not as simple these days because of our reliance on technology. The first thing to remember is that only do things which have a purpose, for example, if you go online, make sure it’s for the purpose that will help you with your work or research. Don’t go online and stray for hours absorbing huge amount of data which has no use to you. Something I do is for one night a week, I completely switch off and switch everything else off also, relax on the couch and read a book, maybe take a bath. It’s up to you but it’s important to take time out once in a while giving your mind and your eyes a much needed break.

Please leave any comments below if you have any experiences of information overload or if you would like to add anything to this discussion. Also, please do remember to subscribe to our RSS feed.

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