Information Overload...

I've been thinking a lot about my present state of mind lately and have been wondering if this may be a topic of interest to others. I'm only talking about my own experience here, though I hope it may be relevant to someone.

We happen to be living at a time when information is more abundant and accesible than perhaps ever before. Information surrounds us, it permeates out senses. It's continually churning out from our televisions (mostly disinformation), from our radios, and most importantly, it exists in every nook and cranny of the internet.

I've always been a person who will stumble upon some new facinating bit of info and will spend several hours purusing the net in search of a better understanding (I dont know how many times I have come across an old ATS gem and spent hours reading every post on a 50 or 60 page thread).

On an average day I visit dozens of websites, reading hundreds of articles, and viewing a handful of documantaries/interviews along the way. The amount of information I've managed to absorb in the last year alone staggers my imagination. At times I find myself struggling to remember some important bit that I recently learned because it seems to be lost within the deluge of info that I try to cram into my overflowing mind each day.

I've often felt lately that I seem to have reached a point of 'information overload'. I find an article that I know I need to read but "it's just too long", or "I just dont have the mental energy to process it" right now. I must have passed over a dozen interesting documentaries today alone because I just didn't feel that I had anywhere to put another hour and a half worth of info. I never used to hit this 'wall'. My head sometimes feels like it's about to explode, yet I worry that if I slow down that I may be about to miss something 'really important' that will make sense of all the insanity that I read about each day.

Perhaps it is the type of information as well. Obviously, oversaturating yourself with info about nature or other 'positive' subjects will not be as taxing as many of the more distressing topics which I so commonly find to be of importance.

So I find myself wondering how many others here have "hit the wall" so to speak?

Do you ever feel that you just cant stand to read one more depressing report on the current state of affairs?

Ever feel that "what will be will be" and that foreknowledge of it will not change anything besides your own opinion and outlook on life?

My nephew often asks me just what value there is to knowing exactly how screwed up the world is. His own view is that it only serves to make one miserable and pessimistic. He is certainly in the ballpark there with regard to my own experience. I wonder what all this 'knowledge' has really gotten me? I am more depressed than ever. I am less optimistic than ever. I used to feel hopeful about the future and now I feel only dread. I can't help but wonder sometimes just what I have gained by learning so much about 911 and NWO and the economy and the rotten nature of politicians (the list goes on and on...). Is the knowledge worth the consequences? Have I ever changed one single thing in a positive way as a result of it? I honestly doubt it.

Perhaps this 'information overload' is just my own defenses telling me to take a break. Perhaps not knowing what new law is coming down the pipe to screw me over next month will not actually matter. I wonder what a few months away from the bad news would really do for my outlook on life.

I think tomorrow I will take a drive, take a walk along the river and try to forget about the bad news for awhile. Maybe I can find some room for something positive for a change and leave all this behind for a bit.

I'm gonna stop rambling on now (sorry 'bout that), these are just some things I wanted to ponder and writing has always seemed the best way for me to sort out my feelings and figure out what is really bothering me.

Take care all....

first off...really weird. i was just thinking about what if one could OD on information, and then i refreshed myATS page and this thread popped up. and i concluded in my head that yes we can OD on info, and then one is declared mentally insane.

i hear you though. this issue of information being so readily available at any given moment is brand new, and i do not think we have yet seen the long term effects of it yet.

i agree that it is very hard to come here multiple times every day and read the starred and flagged threads about doom and gloom. i find myself gravitating to this forum, the paranormal forum, and skunk works more often than not. you HAVE to filter information by choice or you do get bogged down or overloaded.

what i like doing is to start researching something more specific and in tune with where i'm at and filter the rest. be aware of other stories or information but do not dwell or obsess.

information overload is as harmful as disinformation overload, which since the internet is a source for both, choose wisely .

actually, i have an example of information overload...

July 3rd, 2008- The day I went insane.
www.abovetopsecret.com...

in no way am i meaning to offend the OP of that thread, but to me it is a great example of how easy it is to be overloaded, esp with fringe topics like conspiracy theories, aliens, or even different religions.

if we tried to process and come to some rational middle ground on every single person's thoughts or theories, there would be overwhelmage to the max.

[edit on 8-7-2008 by banyan]

I am a long-term lurker on these forums. Even moreso, this is my first ever post here. Hmmm. That is miscellaneous however.

I can definitely emphasize with you on how you feel. More so, I have gotten to the point where I have started to feel a certain mental paralysis. I find it more and more challenging to plan for a "bright future" as use to be able to prior to my enlightenment.

I think its getting worse day by day. I want to absorb more, hoping, just as you put it, Sytemik, to find that one alusive piece of information that will cause everything to fit into this beautiful masterpiece.

...the Bible mentioned things like this...
"With much knowledge/wisdom comes much grief..."

It almost makes me think its time a second deprogramming...

Either way, I hope you get that eternal peace once more.

Thats definitely correct, the more negative and infuriating the info you get is, the more depressed you become once you've processed it.

Its just a case of not dwelling on it, getting on with your life and trying to make whatever difference you can without living a paranoid, angry/depressed existence.

The brain is a meaty computer. Although technology allows us to input tons of information, I tend to think that, biologically speaking, we have our limits before it starts to effect our outputs. Think of the increase in the amount of ADD, ADHD, depression and other forms of mental illness in the general population, a rise which seems to correlate to the rise of the information age.

The detrimental effect of too much information on families is real - video games, web forums and porn have replaced authentic relationships for many individuals. A growing number of people seem incapable of maintaining real-life realtionships, as their social skills are unrefined due to a lack if practice. It's just easier for them to interact passively with a computer than an actual person.

When combined with all the doom and gloom on the web, this sense of disconnection makes society at large helpless and hopeless to effect change. Information is only useful to you if you can apply it to real life. Otherwise, it's just spam slowing down your meaty computer.


[edit on 8/7/2008 by kosmicjack]

There are studies that show that today we take in more information because of cable/satellite TV and the internet.

The study I heard about stated that in 2008 we take in more information in one day than a person living in the 20's would have taken in for the entire lives.
I don't necessarily know if you can overdose on information but it sure can be depressing depending on what type of information you are naturally predisposed
to reading..

I might also add that there are times when I shutdown completely that is why I don't have millions of ATS points if you feel like you are spending to much time online unplug for a few days it won't hurt for long LOL.. Or set a written paper schedule and stick to it start small with things that you would normally do anyway like brushing your teeth and bathing eating and gradually add things to the list till your day is more balanced between life and the web

and also sorry if this hurts some feelings you really do need to get out and do something physical no I don't mean go play football but you need to go sit outside at the very least and really you need physical exercise I have noticed what appears to be the pudgiest group of kids leaving school I have ever seen (that's the part that might hurt) so go get active in real life too

I can picture the IA meetings now...

"Hi, my handle is JoshNorton, and I'm an information addict."

(all) "Hi, Josh!"

Yeah, I'm an info junkie. My Google Reader account is subscribed to 122 RSS feeds, and they generate hundreds of articles a day.

My browser has a bookmark folder that I hit multiple times a day opening another dozen or more sites... Livejournal friends, Facebook, etc. etc.

And, of course, the problem is that I can't get anything done. Over the last few years, I discovered I was in a similar condition with books. (Own more than 2000 currently...) I got into photography and bought about 200 photography books. How-to's, examples & folios of artists I admired or looked to for inspiration, a bunch on technique, a little on theory... At some point I reached the level where I couldn't learn anything new from a book. To get any better, the only thing I can do is actually practice... take pictures. DO THINGS.

It's tough for me... definitely a struggle. Why must I focus so much time on someone else's creative output when I should be generating my own?

I find myself just reading things that 'stand out'. I also don't pay as much attention to the negative doom&gloom stories anymore because I find they bring me down.

I would say that too much knowledge can only be a bad thing if you don't understand it. But you might want to balance your knowledge intake with an equal helping of positive and negative.

Originally posted by Kruel
I would say that too much knowledge can only be a bad thing if you don't understand it. But you might want to balance your knowledge intake with an equal helping of positive and negative.

I agree that equilibrium is key. Be it good/bad, input/output, passive/active, spectator/participant or whatever.

Light is the equilibrium of Shadow and Lucidity.

Movement is the equilibrium of Inertia and Activity.

Authority is the equilibrium of Liberty and Power.

Wisdom is equilibrium in the Thoughts, which are the scintillations and rays of the Intellect.

Virtue is equilibrium in the Affections: Beauty is harmonious proportion in Forms.

—Albert Pike Morals & Dogma p 845

Pure grey neutrality would be pretty boring, but swinging the pendulum wide can be both fun and just as balanced.

I can certainly relate to you on this information overload. What I do is take a break for a while or I will make sure I get my fill of positive, fun and inspiring sites to off set the doom and gloom stuff. Sometimes we are too curious for our own goods and overwhelm the senses.

Spend some time in nature, read, relax, do the things you love to do. We all need balance in our lives. That is the key.