We live in an age where everything is on our fingertips. In fact, when you come to think of it, all of us who are living in this present age are spoilt in so many ways. At one point of time, hard work meant doing something that was more physical.
But today, the definition has changed from the physical aspect to the mental aspect. Most of us spend hours sitting in front of a screen that loads with information. Knowledge is bliss, but what kind of knowledge are we really absorbing? We are more update with the negativity that is going on around us instead of the positivity that is yet to be achieved. The real culprit to most of our problems is – information overload.
The privacy factor is a privilege in today’s world
When you turn back the pages of time, family time and privacy was a part of everybody’s lifestyle. Family members’ used to sit down and eat together sharing their daily experiences and learning. Today, it’s all about the digital age of chatting on our mobiles even if we live in the same home.
Our lives have become more of the social standing of what others would think about us on social media. Our privacy has become more of an open conversation for others instead of ourselves. Somewhere or the other, we are actually victims of anxiety due to an overload of information.
Children are no longer children but robots
No offense to anybody, but there are many who will be able to relate to this. In yesterday’s world, childhood meant rolling in the mud, playing games out in the sun and basically enjoying small things. A small toffee would brighten our day. Today, children really do not have a childhood; every child is directly or indirectly connected to the internet even before they can actually start walking.
Children today are actually real-life robots who are well-versed with all the commands even before they can code them. Children, directly and indirectly, are already connected to information from the time they are in their mother’s womb. In fact, many of them even develop information overload fatigue symptoms at a very early age.
The disadvantages of Information overload
If you read between the lines, being over informed of things is actually a curse than a blessing. For example, today, we are in a position to know what kind of advancements we can expect by 2050. No doubt, it is good to see how much mankind will progress; but in the bargain, this in turn also causes a lot of anxiety. Instead of living in the present, we are already thinking about how our children will cope up with the rising cost of living.
Another perfect example is that many of us live a lie in so many ways. We all know that depression is a silent killer. What is worse is the fact that we are so disconnected from who we really are because we are influenced by others in many ways. Many of us are not really happy with the life we live; our monotonous lifestyle is surrounded to just two main areas- our office and home. One of the real questions that we need to ask ourselves is:
How and why is information overload a problem?
Let us take the same example that we spoke about earlier about how our life will be by 2050. No doubt the information that we get will help us to understand what kind of future we may be getting into. On the other hand, it also causes a lot of anxiousness knowing that life will be a lot more advanced. This, in turn, can actually cause a lot of anxiety and stress because mentally we are thinking about a futuristic life.
Let’s compare the then and now a lifestyle
During the 60’s and ’70s, our parents and grandparents saved for the future but lived for the present. They were a lot happier and had a better lifestyle. They were able to sleep in peace because they were tired physically more than mental stress.
In this present age, we have apps that help us to sleep. We also spend endless nights working and researching for our presentation and projects. In short, they want to be better or to be able to afford a futuristic lifestyle is actually taking us away from our true selves. Such factors actually give birth to what we can term as information overload fatigue symptoms.
Understanding information overload fatigue symptoms
Every day, we are processing a lot of information that is actually causing our minds to work overtime. Due to the constant need of processing information, we end up being forgetful, irritated, angry and even stressed out. The anxiety due to overload of information is actually driving us to a dead end. The need of staying in touch, being on our mobiles constantly and just staying connected is taking a major toll on our mental and physical health. Here are some symptoms of information overload that you should be aware of
- Short-term memory loss due to the overloading of information and poor concentration
- They want to increase our productivity through multi-tasking
- Always being in a hurry to keep up with the masses and the pace
- Overstimulation of the brain which in turn causes it to into a trance mode or shut-down state
- Feeling burned out physically even after sleeping more than 8 hours a day
- Constantly having mood swings which can even go to the extent of rage and anger for no reason
Something to think about
While we can go on emphasizing about how information overload is more of a problem; the bottom line is that it is in our hands to know when to draw the line. We need to keep a control on how much information we actually take in. Even more, it is equally important that we learn how to disconnect ourselves from too much information. There is a big difference in being knowledgeable and what real knowledge is all about. The minute we understand this difference, our lives will actually rewind back to how things were when our parents and grandparents were kids.