Information Overload
What's so wrong with wanting less?
No, wait, I'm not going to go on another less is more mantra, that's not what it's about.
I'm talking about the so-called information we receive everyday. No matter if you abstain from TV, news headlines, internet, and even if you live in a rather remote location, information is all around and we're getting worse and worse at captivating it. We just can't seem to tame this animal, can we?
Well, the reason is easy. You're overloaded. You got too much on your mind. Too many problems, too many people, too many things happening at once. Even relaxing and taking it easy is seen as an activity that must comply to a routine. That's not relaxing at all, is it?
I think this, in a way, comes as an obsession with productivity and activity for the sake of it. The obsession that you have to know everything and that you forgot how to filter what you really need. The created need that you need to read this article, watch all the seasons of this TV show until the end, or finish this book as soon as possible in order to get on with other things. You don't need that.
Some of you may be thrown off by what I just said. After all, I mentioned rather entertaining things. Shouldn't they be just that? Entertaining? Yes. Still, I mention them, because everyday I seem to come across instances of people taking fun, entertaining, relaxing things, and even things that you shouldn't have to think about, as a part of the need of being productive and active. As part of the endless struggle to acquire information and stick it on compact schedules. We're clearly losing our minds and you might be losing our way.
Spreading yourself too thin also seems to be an effect of modern social media and capacities. Too many friends to follow on Facebook, too many tweets and way too many vines. I'm not, in any way or form, advocating that you shouldn't watch Vines or follow friends or whatever the hell we do online anyway; I'm just saying that, perhaps, we should sometimes stop and consider the reason behind it. Some people call these activities as mind rotting activities because they provide you with lots of information that supposedly leads you nowhere. I wouldn't go as far as this, but still, it seems like a new form of idiot box, which came to being because we're addicted to quick fixes and funny pictures. We need to stop a bit sometimes, I'd say. And we need to be a bit more mindful of the information we consume.
To sum it up so I won't dabble too much in the unseen characteristics of the mind (?), we need to be a bit more selective and less obsessed with filling up our time with a fake idea of productivity. We need to do things because we want them to and because we have a certain degree of responsibility, but not because we're in the constant need to get more and know more. In the end, your brain will be too defragmented and your initial idea of having too many ideas reverses and makes you go back to having none because you're just too tired and overloaded.
No, wait, I'm not going to go on another less is more mantra, that's not what it's about.
I'm talking about the so-called information we receive everyday. No matter if you abstain from TV, news headlines, internet, and even if you live in a rather remote location, information is all around and we're getting worse and worse at captivating it. We just can't seem to tame this animal, can we?
Well, the reason is easy. You're overloaded. You got too much on your mind. Too many problems, too many people, too many things happening at once. Even relaxing and taking it easy is seen as an activity that must comply to a routine. That's not relaxing at all, is it?
I think this, in a way, comes as an obsession with productivity and activity for the sake of it. The obsession that you have to know everything and that you forgot how to filter what you really need. The created need that you need to read this article, watch all the seasons of this TV show until the end, or finish this book as soon as possible in order to get on with other things. You don't need that.
Some of you may be thrown off by what I just said. After all, I mentioned rather entertaining things. Shouldn't they be just that? Entertaining? Yes. Still, I mention them, because everyday I seem to come across instances of people taking fun, entertaining, relaxing things, and even things that you shouldn't have to think about, as a part of the need of being productive and active. As part of the endless struggle to acquire information and stick it on compact schedules. We're clearly losing our minds and you might be losing our way.
Spreading yourself too thin also seems to be an effect of modern social media and capacities. Too many friends to follow on Facebook, too many tweets and way too many vines. I'm not, in any way or form, advocating that you shouldn't watch Vines or follow friends or whatever the hell we do online anyway; I'm just saying that, perhaps, we should sometimes stop and consider the reason behind it. Some people call these activities as mind rotting activities because they provide you with lots of information that supposedly leads you nowhere. I wouldn't go as far as this, but still, it seems like a new form of idiot box, which came to being because we're addicted to quick fixes and funny pictures. We need to stop a bit sometimes, I'd say. And we need to be a bit more mindful of the information we consume.
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