If you type the words ‘information overload’ into Google,
you will immediately get an information overload – more
than 7 million hits in 0.05 seconds. Some of this information
is interesting – for example, you learn that the phrase
‘information overload’ was first used in 1970, actually before
the internet was invented. But much of the information is
not relevant or useful: obscure companies and even more
obscure bloggers.
Information overload is one of the biggest irritations in
modern life. There are news and sports websites to watch,
emails that need to be answered, people who want to chat
to you online, and back in the real world, friends, family,
and colleagues who also have things to tell you. At work,
information overload is also causing problems. A recent
survey has shown that many company managers believe
that it has made their jobs less satisfying, and has even
affected their personal relationships outside work. Some of
them also think that it is bad for their health.
Clearly there is a problem. It is not only the increase in
the quantity of information, it is also the fact that it is
everywhere, not just in the home and in the workplace.
Many people today do not go anywhere without their
smartphones. There is no escape from the internet.
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English File third edition Intermediate Student’s Book Unit 9B, p.89 © OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS 2013
Scientists have highlighted three big worries. Firstly,
information overload can make people feel anxious: there
is too much to do and not enough time to do it. People end
up multitasking, which can make them even more stressed.
Secondly, information overload can make people less
creative. Research shows that people are more likely to be
creative if they are allowed to focus on one thing for some
time, without interruptions. Thirdly, information overload
can make people less productive. People who multitask take
much longer and make many more mistakes than people
who do the same tasks one after another.
What can be done about information overload? One solution
is technological: there is now a computer program or app
you can install called ‘Freedom’, which disconnects you
from the web at preset times. The second solution involves
willpower. Switch off your mobile phone and the internet
from time to time. The manager of an IT company puts
‘thinking time’ into his schedule, when all his electronic
devices are switched off so that he isn’t disturbed. This might
sound like common sense. But nowadays, although we have
more information than ever before, we do not always have
enough common sense.