Information Overload

Every day, we are surrounded by tons and tons of media. From our phones, to the TV, to the computer, and iPods, the list goes on and on! Every day, there is more information being added to all of these places, there seems like there is no escape from the information overload. I personally enjoy all of these things, but I do think it’s funny how we go throughout our days stressing about school, work, family, bills, etc. and our way of “relaxing” is to sit down and watch TV or play on the computer, and we’re really just adding to the information overload of the day.

William Van Winkle wrote a web article about just this. He believes that technology is diminishing productivity in the workplace. More people are playing solitaire and surfing the web than doing their job. He also explores a phrase called “information fatigue syndrome.” Almost everyone has become addicted to technology in some way, shape, or form. There was a psychological study done on the stress that technology is causing people. Some side effects of information overload are stated as: rise in blood pressure, weakened vision, frustration, confusion, and an overall grumpy mood.

Suggestions to stay away from the stress that information overload causes, is to limit ones interaction with technology. It’s definitely a hard thing to do, I know I would have a hard time not checking my email or facebook all the time, but I bet it would help a lot of people to lower stress levels if we all limited the technology in our lives a bit.

Internet Addiction Disorder

I was talking to my roommate the other day and she was telling me about how some of her professors wouldn’t allow computers in their classrooms. When I asked her why, she said because the professor didn’t want the students getting distracted, then said “isn’t that dumb?” I personally do not bring my computer to class with me to take notes. When I look around my classes where computers are allowed, most of the time all I see is Facebook or YouTube. Have we entered into a world where students are becoming addicted to the internet?

                 A website called CollegeView addresses this question, as well. Some psychologists have come up with a disorder called Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD), but it is a relatively new concept and not all psychologists think it truly exists. Of course no one is going to die from being addicted to the internet, but they are worried about college students wasting valuable study time surfing the web by becoming addicted to celebrity gossip or Facebook. They have listed tips for you to have a healthy relationship with your internet: set aside computer-free study time, step away from the computer for periods of time, and talk to people face-to-face!

                I have known several people this semester who have had to ask friends to change their Facebook password so they couldn’t get on it for a week or so. Maybe it’s healthy for all of us to have a friend change our password for a little while!

Information Overload, Information Quality, and Learning

                It’s amazing how dependent the world has become on technology. Everyone seems to have a laptop, iPhone, iPod, etc. Anyone and everyone can access the internet and post whatever the choose for the whole world to see. The internet is on “information overload”, the “information quality” is somewhat questionable sometimes, and “learning” process is being affected by the overwhelming internet.

                Born Digital explores these topics and I found them very interesting. The book talks about how there is so much information on the internet we can hardly comprehend it all. There are so many different websites on so many different topics and the information keeps growing and growing at an alarming rate. It also discusses quality, specifically mentioning Wikipedia, and how the posts are not always accurate. The quality of information is an age old battle to sort out the truth from fiction with little success. Finally, it talks about the new learning environment we have been immersed into with the age of technology. Students can bring their computers to class to take notes, which seemed like a good idea, until students were surfing the web more than paying attention to the lecture.

I have found the topics of information overload, information quality, and learning of much interest. I am excited to further explore these topics over the semester and can’t wait to see what I find out!