Information overload – can information be addictive?

Information overload – can information be addictive?

When, back in the 1970s, American writer and researcher Alvin Toffler, observing a rapidly changing reality, popularized the term information overload, hardly anyone realized what scale this phenomenon would reach just 50 years later.

Information surrounds us — our brain has to process it, registering and working through everything that reaches us in the course of a day. According to recent research, every day we take in as much information as we would during an uninterrupted 12-hour conversation. Our brains have never been this overloaded before.

The sheer ubiquity of information has turned it into a product in its own right. Whoever manages to capture our attention in this sea of messages wins both the money and the audience.

Sensory overload, which used to mainly affect particularly sensitive individuals, now touches almost everyone.

Everyday life and overstimulation

The flood of information is behind not just the noise we experience, but also our whole attitude toward information itself — a lack of trust, the growing prevalence of fake news (false or unverified stories), and chaotic, imprecise coverage of topics that prevents full understanding. Drowning in this sea of messages, we lose our ability to filter what we see — put less colorfully: the more news and information there is, the more our brain gets lost, unable to separate what's important and true from what's false or merely sensational. We lose the capacity for rational thought, because we can no longer tell which information is useful and which isn't. So we often end up trapped in flawed thinking shaped by whatever sources we happen to be using. We get caught in the trap.

Our brains are simply suffering from an overload of stimuli, which is why detoxes and other ways of spending time closer to nature rather than in front of a computer, TV screen, or even radio or newspapers have become so popular. We've simply had enough.

Is information addictive?

Absolutely. It even has its own name — FOMO, "fear of missing out."

Social media is a brilliant tool. In every sense, including the negative one. It turns out that it triggers a rise in dopamine, the "happiness hormone." So when we're scrolling through social media, posting another photo while waiting for likes, the same reactions occur in us as during pleasurable (and sometimes risky or ill-advised) activities — bungee jumping, gambling, watching pornography, and so on — or pleasures we have to wait for (the so-called reward system — like a favorite meal after craving it all day, shopping, or going out with friends).

There's a certain pattern worth understanding here: social media platforms (which are our main source of information, and to which we hand over a huge chunk of our day) profit precisely from this addictive quality. The more time we spend with the app open, the better for them — and creators who produce engaging content are especially prized, because it's thanks to them that users stay, which in turn generates profit. This is explained brilliantly in the documentary "The Social Dilemma" — if you haven't seen it, it's worth watching. This isn't about demonizing social media or other sources of information. Rather, we need to use the tools we've been given wisely, staying aware of the risks involved.

Dopamine is what hooks us — it makes us always want more. It motivates us to seek out pleasure and indulge in it. That's why we obsessively check our phones after posting a photo or sharing a thought or opinion. We crave applause and approval. Some people have managed to spot this toxic pattern fairly quickly and now look for their sense of worth (and identity) elsewhere, stepping outside purely virtual experiences. (We do need dopamine — it's what lets us feel pleasure and joy. The problem is that social media exploits the processes happening in our brains in a negative way, securing itself an audience and leading us to replace gaps in our everyday positive experiences with virtual ones.)

Negative effects of information overload

Information overload significantly narrows our cognitive abilities.

I believe that understanding the mechanisms behind how various digital tools operate lets us use them more consciously and wisely. That's why it's worth taking into account the negative effects certain tools have on us, and trying to reverse that trend.

Recent observations have led to a theory suggesting that our obsessive checking of the news can contribute to the development of post-traumatic stress symptoms. That's a shocking claim. This condition of psychological imbalance, normally caused by a deeply traumatic event, can now affect people who haven't actually experienced such trauma directly — meaning they end up exposed to a condition they never needed to go through, essentially picking up trauma through other people's experiences.

Less severe — though still concerning — effects of information overload include a narrowing of our cognitive capacities. This can affect everyday functioning, including our ability to make decisions and grasp the meaning of a given topic. (Physical effects are also mentioned here, such as elevated blood pressure, indigestion, vision problems, and severe headaches, along with psychological effects like aggression, frustration, confusion, sleep problems, and lack of concentration.)

How can we deal with it?

Building healthy habits — in everything — should be our guiding principle.

What can we do to look after our mental state when it comes to screen time?

A few ideas on so-called digital hygiene, drawing on Dr. Maciej Dębski's suggestions: keep track of your screen time, turn off notifications, "forget" your phone every once in a while, find other interests, take care of your sleep (it's especially worth avoiding screens for at least an hour before bed and after waking up), and nurture your relationships.

There's an old saying — you are what you eat — and it seems to me that it holds a striking truth for this whole discussion too. If we constantly eat fast food, we shouldn't be surprised by obesity, breathing problems, and generally feeling worse overall (we've long known that a diet needs to be balanced). The same goes for our minds — the content we "consume" has an enormous impact on our wellbeing and state of mind. If we keep feeding on content full of negative information, our impressionable brain may end up making us feel just as negative. (Perhaps some readers experienced this during the pandemic, or now amid war and a flood of negative news, which it's very easy to get swept up in and lose touch with reality.) Don't get me wrong — this information is incredibly important and very real for many of us, whether directly or, in many respects, indirectly — but we can end up falling headfirst into an overload of it and losing touch with reality, feeding on fake news and spreading it further. We need to find balance.

Can you switch off?

Looking at your own life as objectively as you can, do you see that this might be a problem for you?

Try putting at least one of the digital-hygiene tips above into practice: turn off notifications, find a hobby (or spend more time on one you already have), do as many tasks as possible without your phone nearby, leave your phone in another room or out of reach while you sleep, put your smartphone away during meals, and so on. You might well notice a change in how you function day to day. Information is a good thing — it serves us, broadens our minds, and often helps us see a problem from a wider perspective. But it can also become a trap and a source of trouble, all at once. Using the information that reaches us every day wisely can have only a positive effect on us — not demonizing social media, but treating it as a useful tool. It's not easy, but it's worth searching for that balance.

Sources:
https://sektor3-0.pl/wideo/jak-ulozyc-swoje-relacje-z-technologiami-10-wskazowek-nt-higieny-cyfrowej/
A. Toffler, Future Shock, New York 1970.