‘Technology has to be
blamed for the fact that we’re suffering from information overload,’ claims an
old-timer.
BC: Hi,did you get your newspaper this morning?
AD: I wouldn't know, I get all my news online...
BC: How do you manage to keep track? There's such an overdose
of news and articles on the net - it becomes so difficult to find your way
through that maze, figure out which ones you want to read and...
AD: I don’t think it’s all that complicated…
BC: A newspaper has 20-odd pages and each page has a finite
number of articles and news items - isn't it easier to follow them than have a
million websites report the same incident in different ways?
AD: You need to install a couple of filters to make your
life easy - one is to your computer, to help you be selective about what you
read. And the other is to your mind, to stay focussed and not vacillate between
various sites...
BC: But why complicate things in the first place? Technology
was brought in to simplify life, but...
AD: Here we go again. It's pretty simple actually, as long
as you know what to look for and where to look for it.
BC: You’re trivialising the problem…
AD: I don't understand why you're blaming technology for it.
Hasn't information overload been bandied about as the bane of civilisation ever
since the printing press came into existence?
BC: C'mon, you can't compare a few hundred books to an
unending barrage of information online. Even social media has become a source
of news - there are so many 'relevant' news items that are begging for your
attention. And the ones that you miss out on are purposefully forwarded to you
by friends and contacts – a host of sites like Mashable, Pinterest, Tumblr,
Twitter, Digg and Facebook are more than willing to bring it to your laptop or
mobile.
AD: You should learn to ignore most of them, especially those
awful forwards in the 'self-help' and 'how to' categories...
BC: They're the ones that people just can't resist and so
they end up loading themselves with information on everything from how to
practice yoga at a fast-food joint to a thousand selfie poses to try out and
post online before you die…
AD: But there’s a positive side to all this…
BC: The problem is that there is no balance. The pendulum
has swung from a dearth of information to a surfeit of it…
AD: It's about prioritising...
BC: And what about spam? Think of all the mail you get from
dubious sources that clog your inbox - and think of the time you spend in
clearing it, day after day.
AD: Isn't that why we have spam filters? And why are you
harping on the disadvantages of technology? What about the fact that you don't
have to wait for the latest news any longer? Everything you want to know is now
available at your fingertips…
BC: But I don't need all of that. What'll I do with a million
sites telling me about Facebook buying Whatsapp, for instance? I need just one
source of news to explain the deal to me...
AD: It's not about how much information you find - it's
about knowing where to find information when you need it. That's the reason why
search engines exist - and just because Google throws up a billion results
doesn't mean you hare off checking out all of them...
BC: What about the health problems associated with
information overload? Haven't you read about the computer vision syndrome,
which affects those who stare at their screen for long durations?
AD: Scientists have come up with a brain scanner that can
detect when an individual goes into information overload. Apparently, it's like
a headband and is worn by the user...
BC: Look what technology has reduced us to...
AD: What do you mean?
BC: Until recently, a scanner was a peripheral connected to a
computer. Now, thanks to information overload, even human beings sit attached
to scanners.
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