I recently wrote an article on information overload and the affect it was having on me. In short, I found myself getting more stressed out from the increased load of information I have been taking in over the course of the last 3-6 months. I’m working on cutting back the amount of information I take in on a daily basis and am noticing some improvements to my overall well-being from doing this.
It turns out there’s statistical evidence regarding the increased amount of information that we take in on a daily basis. The University of California – San Diego released a study documenting how much information Americans consume. The average American consumes 34 gigabytes and 100,000 words of information per day. If it sounds like a lot, it is. To state it another way, we’re consuming enough information each day to fill up 20% of an average notebook computer’s hard drive.
We really can’t effectively process the increased amount of information that comes into our lives on a daily basis. Or, it might be better to state that the way we process our information is leading to a change in our thought patterns, particularly toward a state of lower levels of concentration. Consider this statement I found in an article about information overload published by The Atlantic. It’s from Bruce Friedman, a blogger:
I now have almost totally lost the ability to read and absorb a longish article on the web or in print…I can’t read War and Peace anymore, I’ve lost the ability to do that. Even a blog post of more than three or four paragraphs is too much to absorb. I skim it.”
Maryann Wolf, a developmental psychologist from Tufts University goes on to say:
We are not only what we read, we are how we read.
As we take in more information, it becomes more difficult to process the information and focus on one particular piece of information for an extended period of time. In other words, it’s creating this passive mind state that is affecting our ability to critically think. Just think about the local newscast that you watch. There is a person speaking and at the same time there is a ticker at the bottom of the screen providing information on other stories. In fact, there might be 3-4 different pieces of information being shown to us at one time and we have to try to sort through all of that and figure out what we want to concentrate on. Often times, it’s a lot of going back and forth.
Or, even better yet, think of your own reading habits. Notice how you scan through the multitude of Twitter messages that bombards you on a second by second basis, or your RSS feed. How do you handle this information? Like me and Bruce above, you probably do a lot of skimming and scanning in an attempt to be efficient. How efficient is it though? What value is it providing? If we are truly how we read, as Ms. Wolf states, then how difficult is it for us to truly be in the present moment? Could this be part of the reason why such a large majority of our population is experiencing unhappiness at work, or why some seem like they are sleepwalking through life? Do we fully understand the impact this is having on our life, health and well being?
I’ve begun to wonder if there will ever be a tipping point where we push back on the increased bombardment of information and move to a more simplified way of living. Obviously there’s some demand and desire for it as has been demonstrated in Leo Babauta’s popular blog, Zen Habits. Or, will we become robots where we reactively respond to all situations and fragmented thoughts, losing our ability to critically think, let alone just be in the present moment?
I want to end by saying that I am not trying to decry technology, nor am I saying we should completely shut it out of our lives and lead a monastic lifestyle. That would be a bit naive on my part. Technology is a part of our lives and there are many wonderful things that it can offer us. However, as our technology advances and as more pressure is put on us to ‘do more,’ let’s try to make sure we maintain a certain sense of equanimity and common sense in our lives. Technology should help us become more human rather than less human.
We are not only what we read, we are how we read.
Great point. I’ll agree and up the ante… We’re also “why we read”. I submit that why we read dramatically and directly impacts how we read.
There are several reasons to read, but I want to mention one in relation to your post. I’m often in search mode. I scan through multitudes of dross knowing that at some point I’ll find an idea that resonates. It’s not at all for efficiency, it’s a quest to get to a combination of words that stops me in my tracks. When that happens, I switch to absorb & contemplate mode.
That said, at some point, I think we get so used to searching, that we get lose focus and stop scanning in the ‘why’ sense and blocks us from registering a valuable idea when it’s there. In essence, why we’re reading is reduced to how we’re reading in that the method subsumes our consciousness.
One of the ways I deal with this (for better or worse) is to make certain assumptions about the source of information. For instance, if I’ve scanned someone’s blog a few times without finding anything that yanks me out of my scanning mindset, I begin to assume that they’re a waste of my time.
Thankfully, you write articles that make me think. Friedman’s quote definitely stopped me in my tracks. I’m not yet done thinking about this post. And I’ll probably have to read it a third time.
Well done.
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Well, I’ll certainly try to keep it up!
You bring up some interesting points. What about this though? Do we have to do all the scanning? I mean, what if we limit ourselves to reading a select number of magazines and blogs? Could we miss something? Yes, I suppose, but maybe that’s the whole point. There’s so much information out there that we feel the need to take more of it in, otherwise we might miss out on something.
Two other quotes worth pondering…both from Einstein:
“The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.”
or, more blunt:
“Information is not knowledge.”
Exactly. Reading to avoid missing out on something is another ‘why’. And I think that’s the trap. Avoidance is a powerful motivator, and useful when we’re avoiding a variety of negatives. However, avoidance of the unknown is a bad strategy simply because there’s too much we don’t (can’t?) know… hence the overload.
Einstein is basically right. If we’re reading to gain intelligence, our motivations are mostly misguided. However, those quotes somewhat discount that there is value in knowledge despite falling short of pure imagination. The latter is true, but discounts that insight does lead to knowledge. Insight can certainly be discovered, read, and converted.
I think that media usage will be content of teaching in the future. At least, I hope so. While the techniques may change, the core problem remains the same, so I think what we need to learn are just some strategies to cope with all the stuff without getting overwhelmed.
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I don’t think there’s any issue with the medium changing for distribution. It’s the amount of information that’s more of a concern….so, yeah, the same problem definitely. I’m not sure if you’ve seen Minority Report, but there’s a scene where Tom Cruise is walking through a mall and personalized ads are coming up as he walks by stores. What’s crazy….and semi-scary is that kind of technology is basically here. I work in a tech company and stuff like that exists. Soon, we won’t have to make decisions. Decisions will be made for us without us having to do any thinking or contemplation.
Mourning the loss of one’s ability to “think critically” is rather like regretting the loss of an infant’s ability to suck its toes. Critical thinking, as generally taught and practiced, is the useless activity of finding fault with things; of finding reasons not to believe something, try it, experiment, and discover.
It’s not that you *can’t* read a blog post of more than 3-4 paragraphs, it’s that you realize very quickly that there aren’t more than 3-4 paragraphs worth reading in a typical blog post – or book. So you can’t bear to sit through “War and Peace”? Good; you’re grown up and have better things to do!
“When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.” 1 Corinthians 13:11
Welcome!
Interesting points. Well, in a very literal sense, he may not be able to read War and Peace anymore. His mind may be so fragmented and attached to thought that he has ‘lost’, in a sense, his ability to concentrate on one thing for a extended period of time.
It’s really getting to the core of mindfulness. You can’t just be mindful by wanting it. You have to practice it and live it. If you don’t, you will likely get so caught up in your thoughts that you will end up missing the moments and literally miss your life because all we have is this moment…right now.
The worry with information overload is that it is causing us to get ‘trapped’ even further in the depths of mind and the natural flowing river that is our thoughts. We can never get rid of thoughts, nor do we want to even attempt to do that. However, we can slow the current with right mindfulness.
Of course he can read War & Peace; you just take it one word at a time. The only thing preventing him from reading it is lack of desire to do so.
HIS desire, not the expectations of others to which he thinks he should live up. His recent “inability to read” is actually his new-found ABILITY to do as he pleases instead of what pleases others.
Parable/joke time:
Johnny didn’t cry when he was born; he never made a sound. He didn’t speak when other children started speaking. He entered kindergarten mute.
His parents took Johnny to many doctors who could find nothing wrong. Finally, they gave up and just accepted Johnny’s tragedy.
One night, at dinner, Johnny suddenly said,
“Pass the salt, please.”
The whole family went nuts with amazed joy.
“When did you learn to speak?” his parents asked.
“I’ve always been able to speak,” said Johnny.
“Well, why didn’t you say anything until now?”
“Everything was fine until now.”
Johnny did not let others’ expectations rule him.
Mindfulness is not thoughtfulness; it’s though-LESS-ness. Mindfulness requires not concentration but awareness.
Concentration upon one thing is the exclusion of all else, a narrowing of one’s world. Awareness is openness to absolutely everything, creating the largest world possible for oneself.
A straw floating upon a river cannot slow the river’s current. The straw can only go with the flow. A straw that clings to a rock is soon torn apart by the force of the current sweeping over it. Likewise, if you cling to one thing by concentrating upon it, you will be torn apart by the current of all else. It is folly to try to stem the flow of life.
“Be soft in your practice. Think of the method as a fine silvery stream, not a raging waterfall. Follow the stream, have faith in its course. It will go its own way, meandering here, trickling there. It will find the grooves, the cracks, the crevices. Just follow it. Never let it out of your sight. It will take you….”
Sheng-yen, (1930-2009)
Well, we may have to agree to differ on the War & Peace issue! There may or may not be an expectation or feeling that he needs to read War & Peace or live up to some expectation that he has to read it……although I certainly cannot know what he is thinking, nor can I deny what he is feeling, for it is his reality and that I respect.
As far as mindfulness goes….I whole heartedly agree that it is about thoughtlessness, however, it certainly is not about not thinking. It’s about not attaching yourself to the thinking. The quote that you provided definitely captures the essence of this.
Indeed, letting go of thoughts and desires is critical. Just hours ago, a Tweep said she wants to trace the origins of her thoughts, think about them some more. I replied,
“You don’t trace the bubbles in the bathtub back to their origin, do you? Nor are you anxious for them to linger. Just note their arising and let them float away.”
Yes, what you describe is a cultural phenomenon, and of course also entails an element of personal choice. Personally, I never watch TV, and skim over headlines of Huffington Post and New York Times every morning. I read a few blogs, such as yours, and I read a an hour worth of tweets (takes only few minutes to read). The rest, I spend meditating, writing on my blog and on Twitter, reading books, mostly from meditation teachers, and going about my life. It takes intention, that’s all. And I do feel very privileged to have made that choice.
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Yes, absolutely. Right intention is key. Not feeling or feeding into the need or desire to do-do-do all the time, but finding a routine and way of living that is truly in line with who we are, free of the expectations (or perceived) expectations of others.
Cutting back on TV is something that I definitely want to concentrate on.
This consumption of information is destroying our memories as well and as a consequence, our abilities to be honest.
With our brains so bombarded with information, we find it difficult to listen to other people and actually focus on the words they speak. Our minds are constantly drifting all over the place and only taking in bits of what we hear. But later, when an important part of that discussion needs to be passed on to others or used in real life, we can no longer remember the important details and end up filling in the blanks with details we suddenly create, causing the truth to become distorted.
On another note, I just finished a four-day break from internet information and feel as if I just returned from a week at a luxury spa!
Earl´s last blog ..Long-time Friends and Long-term Travel
Absolutely. I definitely think our levels of concentration are affected by information overload. We’re always in ’scan’ mode and looking around. It’s basically creating this add state within everyone.
I’m glad to hear you took a four day break! It’s wonderful when we give ourselves that time to just be, without the distractions of the internet. What was it like? Did you miss it, or did you find you were absolutely fine without checking e-mail, Twitter, etc.?
During the first day I naturally kept wondering what I was missing but after that I barely thought about it. It’s tough though, because as much as I could easily continue with the break, there are blogs I want to read and of course emails that need to be checked. So I am absolutely determined to find a healthy balance now in order to avoid such overload. No more late nights of checking twitter and my google reader just to ’stay in the loop’ when I am exhausted and just want to sleep. Twitter can always wait!
Earl´s last blog ..Long-time Friends and Long-term Travel
Haha.. I previously forgot about the Penelope Trunk post that contains the following “Stop talking about information overload. That term is for weaklings.
That nugget is followed by: “Guess what? Generation Y never talks about information overload. That’s because they know how to process information better than anyone else.” then… “If you feel like you are overwhelmed it means that your career is at risk, because the best employees in today’s workplace are information synthesizers. And information synthesizers don’t feel overwhelmed by information – they either use it or they don’t, but they don’t whine that there’s too much.”
So! By by baseless sanctimonious decree, this entire post and all of the comments are rendered signs of inferiority. Take that, thoughtful analysis!
Andrew´s last blog ..Leveraging Failure: Reflective Summary [Lifestyle Design Year 6]
Hmmm, I guess I’m a weakling…..
Seems like a very do-do-do, American-ized view. You know, ‘don’t whine,’ ‘get over it’….basically a survival of the fittest kind of approach. Even the first paragraph of the article. She seems very attached to what she does and what other people think of what she does…as if it defines the individual. I suppose that’s a topic for another article though.
Having said the above, her opinion is fine and I definitely respect it. It’s more of a time management approach, which is great. While it’s important to be able to ’synthesize’ information, it doesn’t really get down to questioning the value of the increased information out there and if we should add to it. I see so many articles stating how you need to publish x amount of blogs per week to be successful. Great! Now, what if everyone does that? Is it really adding value? Does tweeting what I’m reading add value? Does tweeting at all add value? What is value? I think these are all questions worth pondering.
Yeah, her whole shtick is based on her obsession with Gen-Y. A little weird for a 43 year old. Anyway, I’m sure most of the people who’ve commented here are members of “Gen-Y” and are proving exactly the opposite of what she’s claiming.
Anyway, I thought that was an amusing counterpoint since most everyone here seems to agree with you… myself included of course.
Nate:
Brilliant post. You add value every time with the ideas you share.
Yes, we are bombarded with information from every angle.
I see screens pop up everywhere: TV, Computer, you name it.
I get headaches from sitting in front of screens every day.
What’s the solution?
Well, let’s just say I decided to get away from it all for a few days.
It was a meditation retreat, more like a spiritual journey. Just me and close to nature. Guess what? No more headache, buddy, and no more swallowing pills to make drug companies rich.
Now every time I am stressed out, at least I know what to do.
Ah, the miracles of the natural world: what a relief!
Ah, I love it Archan! Connecting with nature…and better yet, with yourself.
Have you ever read Thoreau’s Walden? He has some wonderful lessons to share about connecting with inner being and nature. The thing is, I talk about information overload here, but even in the late 1800’s, in Concord Mass, Thoreau saw the problems people were having with industriousness for the sake of being industrious.