Information overload revisited
I have just returned from a visit to Australia. No e-mails, no Internet for 21 days. I expected to feel withdrawal pangs, but actually enjoyed the cessation of constant information demanding attention.
It was almost a feeling of liberation…
This made me ponder if the progressing development of mobile ‘phones with access to internet and e-mails will cause additional stress to the user?
That mobile ‘phones cause stress is already documented: 1127 young people were assessed:
“For women, high combined use of computer and mobile phone at baseline was associated with increased risk of reporting prolonged stress and symptoms of depression at follow-up, and number of short message service (SMS) messages per day was associated with prolonged stress. Also online chatting was associated with prolonged stress, and e-mailing and online chatting were associated with symptoms of depression, while Internet surfing increased the risk of developing sleep disturbances. For men, number of mobile phone calls and SMS messages per day were associated with sleep disturbances. SMS use was also associated with symptoms of depression. The findings suggest that ICT may have an impact on psychological health, although causal mechanisms are unclear.”
I have not read the full article. the above was cut from the published abstract.
A little searching on the net found a good article with some relevant information on how to deal with the stress caused by too much information – written by Monika Mundell. In fact her blog makes interesting reading. The lifehack site is also full of relevant and interesting stuff for free-lancers and other Micros.
As information technology is continuously developing and making information not only accessible wherever we are, but also more urgent and demanding, I think it is increasdingly important to learn to turn it off before it becomes a total addiction – Informania.