Information Overload - Data Asphyxiation

Information Overload - Data Asphyxiation

Information overload (aka information flood or information asphyxiation) is a term that is usually used in conjunction with various forms of computer mediated communications. It refers to the state of having too much information to make a decision or remain informed about a topic.

Fighting the data asphyxiation is difficult, but not impossible.

The typical business manager is said to read one million words per week (the equivalent of one and a half full length novels per day). A Sunday edition of the New York Times has more information than the average 19th-century citizen accessed in his entire life. Think about these facts.

The information overload has become a worldwide issue, affecting more and more people each year. Its symptoms are the following:

Increased cardiovascular stress, due to a rise in blood pressure;

Weakened vision (a Japanese study predicts a nearly-universal near-sightedness in the close future);

Confusion and frustration;

Impaired judgment;

Decreased benevolence to others;

Constant feeling of tiredness;

Short attention span;

Constant feeling of helplessness.

There is a common piece of wisdom which holds that any given fact can be twisted to fit one's needs. And it's totally true. Let's take the global warming issue as an example. It is really such a great threat to our lives or not? The answer, of course, depends on whose report you read, and there are so many reports emerging on a constant basis that one is left not knowing what to believe. This is a condition that is sometimes referred to as "paralysis by analysis", and it may account for some of the decline in the American (and not only) health.

The web presents huge amounts of information to its users, cable and satellite TV offer dozens of channels of meaningless drivel and the newspapers and magazines also try to feed us with lots of information. The problem is that our brains didn't evolve as much as the communication methods and information quantities have grown.

The key decision that one has to take is: "when do I have enough?".

Because we can't look at everything, we've got to establish some boundaries and deadlines, we've got to recognize what quality is and filter all the information coming our way. In short, we have to take control.

Key to information management is focusing on the quality of the data that you receive. Decrease quantity, increase quality.

Do help you do that, I've compiled a short list which can serve as a guide in your information management process.

What to do:

Starting with the obvious: decrease quantity, increase quality.

Be careful with your phone time. Call only with planned discussions and teach your friends and family to do the same. It's important to keep calls short and focused.

Get organised, clean your desk.

Kill your television. Or at least lower the time that you spend watching it. Is watching TV a good use of your time? I don't think so. Even television news is mostly designed more to sell commercials rather than to educate the public. The U.S. Department of Health and Home Services has published findings that TV might actually cause learning disorders.

E-mail can be a dangerous virus in it's own right. Only drop your address when essential. Don't check your mail all the time (schedule a evening and a morning check).When sending e-mails, write informative subject lines, assume that the recipient is too busy to open messages with lame titles like "hi". Also, try to ignore the messages without important subjects.

Avoid instant messaging (IM) as much as possible, unless real-time interaction will truly add value to the communication process. A one-minute interruption of someone will cost them ten minutes of productivity, as they reestablish the mental context and get back into the work flow.

Set priorities and allocate the bulk of your time to tasks that are crucial to meeting your goals. Minimize interruptions and spend big chunks of your time on productive and creative activities.

Reduce paper. Touch a piece of paper only once - either file it or toss it away.

Use your printer. This somewhat conflicts with the previous statement, but it's so easy to become distracted by enticing link after link. Print the information that you need and file it. Saves reading time, and you can find it easier.

Newsgroups can consume your life. Use them only for research and targeting specific answers.

Filter the information.

Take control over the flow of information that you allow to come your way.

Attempt to recognize only quality data.

Accept that not all data can be examined when information volumes are exceedingly high.

Unsubscribe the newsletters and RSS feeds that aren't going to help you achieve any of your goals.

Develop an information management strategy that works for you.

And to make things easier, here's a "Don't Do" list:

Don't take cell phones or computers when you're on vacation.

Don't let information take control of you.

Don't attempt to examine every piece of data available.

Don't focus on things that are beyond your control.

The things we need to know are now drowning in an ocean of irrelevant information. This erodes our work efficiency, family functioning, and increases crime rates. It also lowers our information processing skills that we need in order to elect responsible leaders and counter the countless waves of propaganda.

The risk of information asphyxiation touches us all - from managers and web surfers to the lazy couch tubers. Recent scientific research suggests that exposing individuals to an information overloaded environment results in lower IQ than exposing individuals to marijuana. The same study notes that a night without sleep can be as debilitating as over-exposure to information.

Excessive word count and worthless details are making it harder for people to extract useful information. We should all keep in mind that saying less communicates more.

Each little piece of useless chatter is relatively innocent and only robs us of a few seconds, but the cumulative effect is much worse.

Most information manuals are filled with "important" safety tips against obvious stupidities burying the actual dangers in a huge mass of irrelevancy. This only makes them less safe, because people no longer take time to read the safety precautions.

Studies of content usability find that by removing half of a websites words will double the amount of information users actually get.

Let's start cleaning our information environment today. Take control now!

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_(By Titus Napirlica).