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Hello dear reader, I know it has been a while since my last blog post, but I ensure you this time wasn't misused. While taking a break from writing articles I was finishing my second book. It will see the world before the end of the year.
While I was on the quest to find different research to power up my book, I got on this interesting topic of information overload that first was mentioned in the 90th. Well, I started to think if it was becoming a problem 30 years ago... what about now.
I agree, our brain is incredible soft technology that we were so lucky to receive, and it can do a lot of amazing things. However, we still own the same brain as 200,000 years ago, but our world is different and we do live in the information age.
Let's look at today's picture. Today we have more ways than we ever had to receive more information in one day than a person would in their lifetime only a couple hundred years ago. We wake up listening to news from Google or Alexa, we turn on the TV to get bombarded with advertising, and on the way to work, we listen to podcasts and radio and see about 100 ads just as we drive. Our work delivers information on a speed dial by email, fax, and computer screen. That is already more than our brain can process for only a few hours. But the crazy thing is: when we are trying to relax and unwind we pick up our phone every free minute we have to get even more information just by tapping our fingers on the screens of our phones.
In one of my last reels, I shared how I protect myself from informational overload, or you can even say overdose. I use three simple tricks that can do a lot for anyone. I will share it at the end of the article, so make sure to read it at the end.
You might think and ask yourself:
Isn't knowledge power? Don't we get knowledge from information? And what happens if I get an informational overdose?
Well, let's look at why we need to be aware of how much information we consume.
The founder and chairman of the Netherlands’ Institute for Research and Intercultural Cooperation, and celebrated organizational behaviorist, says, coupled with technological, organizational, and social change, human beings are in danger of killing themselves with information stress.
“The human brain can only absorb so much information"
Comparatively few resources have been “put into educating people on how to cope with the mass of information they are confronted with”.
Another study from 2009 suggests that the surging volume of available information—and its interruption of people’s work—can adversely affect not only personal well-being but also decision-making, innovation, and productivity.
But the most intriguing thing is that our brain after sorting through all the information we face tire quickly and use up all our energy so that we feel tired and stressed to do even activities we like, social events, physical activities, or simple talks with friends and family.
Sounds familiar?
But what do we do when we feel tired? - we pick up our phones again.
Okay, so how we can reduce the information overload for our own sake? Sometimes you have to let go of the need to know everything.
Here are a few simple tips I use:
I leave my phone in the living room for the night so I am not drawn to scroll through social media before I go sleep and don't start my day with it.
Digital well-being on your phone to monitor how much you use the phone and I set time outs of 30 minutes a day on social media ups.
I turn off most of my app notifications. Leaving only the most important like calls, texts, banks, and insurance.
Conclusion:
I can't agree more, information and knowledge are power, but just like we need to watch how much and what we eat, we need to watch and be aware of how much and what quality of information we consume. Otherwise, we might find ourselves stressed and tired. And we know that most to be exact 85 percent of our diseases come from stress.
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