Calm down, information overload is a good thing

The term ‘social media fatigue’ is beginning to pop up more and more; a predictable result of the increasing use of social media becoming increasingly embedded in our lives both as entertainment and necessity. While there may be some evidence to suggest social media fatigue – a result of information overload – is a real thing, these results seem questionable.

A recent study amongst Indian youth found that social media burnout was becoming a very real condition leading to insomnia, depression and even ignorance and rudeness. 50 per cent claimed that they had started spending less time on social networks and focusing on more ‘important’ activities.

The problem, of course, with a study such as this is that it’s completely subjective. Firstly, it relies on honesty from the participants in something that is incredibly difficult to discern. Unless the subjects of the study are being unknowingly monitored over a sustained period of time to measure their access to social networks, how much can you really trust the findings? I would find it incredibly difficult to say how much time I actually spend accessing social networks, as so much of it is done ambiently, sometimes even without realising it.

The second problem with a study like this, is that it doesn’t seem to have looked at any external factors that might be contributing to these conditions. Factors such as insomnia or depression might be occuring in these young people at the same time that social media usage is increasing, but it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a direct cause of it. This is typical of moral panics in society, where a fundamental way of life is apparently being challenged, so a scapegoat is sought and the hysteria rises.

Information overload is not new

When we look at the seemingly modern problem of information overload and how this is negatively affecting people, we find that it’s not as unique to modern society as we might think. In response to the printing press, which is arguably the first precursor to the internet, Alexander Pope (who lived from 1688-1744) wrote that “Paper became so cheap, and printers so numerous, that a deluge of Authors covered the land.”

A mass of cheap information was often described as the cause of a loss of knowledge. When you consider this, it’s easier to see how information overload has been a consistent trend throughout history, but that it is not necessarily a bad thing. Consider that the printing press lead to increased access to information, as more people could afford to bring books into their home, where once they were forced to visit one of a few University books that would sometimes only contain 100 books.

This has certainly not dented society, but we have seen incredible progress in industries thanks to information overload. That is to say – more and more information circulating leading to increased access but also increased channels for more people to contribute their own works.

Let’s call it something else

The problem is in the very term ‘overload’. It is not overload of information at all, but simply more information circulating around that we have to navigate through. And with this comes a new set of skills that we are increasingly adept at developing. Of course, more information is going to lead to more material for us to sift through, which can seem an arduous task. But these are the skills of modern society that are increasingly required to succeed. It’s not so much about what knowledge you happen to contain in your head, but how quickly you can sift through and navigate to that information that you need.

Information overload is not new and it is not bad. It is a necessary condition of the advancement of society and equal access to knowledge.