According to certain studies conducted, when people are overwhelmed by too much information it leads to certain adverse effects. During COVID-19, a survey was conducted in Seoul, South Korea among 627 residents. The study showed that the cognitive capacity and the frequency of online news use and interpersonal communication were significant predictors of information overload.
Data is everywhere. It is hidden in something as small as a human protein and as large as Earth’s atmosphere. Since the beginning of the internet, data has been growing exponentially. People are pumping out an unbelievable amount of data into the web everyday which is nearly 2.5 quintillion bytes.
Information Overloaded
Information Overloaded is a state when one is presented with too much information which causes difficulty to a person for taking decisions due to the presence of excess information or it is the kind of stress you feel when you consume more information than you can “digest”.
History
The term ‘information overloaded’ was coined by a professor of political science named Bertram Gross but it was popularised by an American writer Alvin Toffler.
This concept was there around since 3rd or 4th century BCE. Throughout history there have been complaints about information overload particularly during the Renaissance and the industrial revolution periods.
Causes
Nowadays an enormous amount of irrelevant data is reaching among the people and make them confused. This is one of the main problems faced by the present society and so, the topic is more overlooked. Some main causes of information overload are:
Lack of clarity in the information. As due to the large bombardment of the information the people find it difficult to reach at a final understanding as they got a lot of information but unable to understand but mere a random data.
As there is a lot of sources to get information and each source have different meaning and it makes people confusing. Multiple sources of information are a cause of information overload.
Sometimes the user cannot read the information within his time limit. It is due to the large amount of information.
There are no methodologies for quickly processing, comparing and evaluating information sources.
Effects
People have started finding themselves becoming more stressed from the distraction, pressure and interruptions that have entered their lives because of the relentless flow of information.
Poor decision-making is one of the biggest impacts of information overload, which has reduced the mental capacity. Researches shows that information overload has made people to work below their potential and lost their focus on work. As a result, less productivity, think superficially and generate fewer ideas and cause errors. Due to the poor mental health, it takes time to keep all the information. This not only happens in work but also in personal life also and starts to affect health. Dealing with a lot of stress than before cause increase in anxiety levels, high rate of irritation and depression level and may lead to death sometimes.
Preventions
The information should be kept simple so that it will be easy to interpret. It should be presented in an innovative way so that the user can understand easily. Use the information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose. The provided information should be linked with similar ideas so that users can relate them.
Individuals can also avoid information overload by themselves.
Ignore the extra information that they feel ignored or cannot consume.
The information can be tackled by taking more time.
Try to take key points from the bundle in information and work upon it rather be confused.
Divide the work among others.
Information overload is a phenomenon which makes people confusing due to the bundle of data. In the coming generations this keeps on increasing. The prevention measures stated above can provide a relief for the users. The libraries, information professionals etc should come forward and provide certain measures for tackling the problem innovatively and effectively.
By Siddharth Krishnan
Content Writer
Social Journal
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