OVERTHINKING｜（4）Chapter 3: Information Overload

How to Declutter and Unfu*k Your Mind, Build Mental Toughness, Discover Fast Success Habits, Thinking & Meditation, Mindfulness for Creativity, Slow Down the Brain and be Yourself

Have you ever experienced a sensation of feeling

burned out

after being

inundated

with images， text， and video in social media or from news sites？ I’ve known many people over the years who admit that they sometimes spend several hours a day， as many as

4 or 5 straight hours surfing the internet

， reading up on the latest

celebrity news

， maybe a couple of

world news stories

，

scrolling through

the entire Facebook feed on their phones， watching the most popular YouTube videos or latest music videos from their favorite bands， reading all the

nasty

Twitter feeds between celebrities that hate each other， blah， blah， blah。 After a while， your eyes may glaze over and feel like glass from taking in all of that information。

Social media addiction

is kind of a

buzz

term that has gained in popularity as professionals in psychology and social sciences observe the effects of social media on human minds and on society as a whole。 We’ve become hopelessly addicted to the feeling of “present-ness” that accessing social media can afford。 When we read a new story on someone

who is considered high profile

， we feel like we are part of something going on here and now that is relevant and immediate and full of kinetic energy。

The truth is

， we really don’t know those celebrities， even if they choose to share every single

intimate detail

of their

day-to-day lives

with us。 They want us to feel that way because this means they retain a huge number of followers and can get paid the

big bucks for their visibility and access to huge markets

。

These entrepreneurs of social media are called “

influencers

，” and the realm is no longer limited to movie stars or billionaire playboys and girls。 Now， we have thousands of niche groups who follow a specific person in

social media

because of their

appeal

as role models in fashion， their humor， or other

facets

of themselves they’ve chosen to market successfully。

So why do I bring up this

social media phenomenon

here？ Well， this is a great example of how

taking in a constant barrage

of information from the internet can lead to information overload。 While

information overload

has a quite scientific and

precise

definition regarding its effect on the brain， it may also be identified through a discussion of how social media affects our inner lives and thoughts， contributing to our overall sense of self and self-worth in an overwhelming world。

Let’s follow this line of thinking down

the rabbit hole

and see where we end up。

Our brains are complex to a degree that we are only beginning to understand

。 The information we take in

on a day-to-day basis

is largely forgotten and discarded shortly after processing it。 When we spend time on social media， we are taking in an

endless

stream of information that is simultaneously

having a profound effect on

the way we think and being discarded as

ultimately useless information

once we’ve seen it。

As mentioned before

， we experience a

high

when we read new information on social media that seems to be happening “now” because everyone wants to feel like they are a part of the cutting edge of reality。

No one likes to be the “last to know”

or to feel like we are behind the times， so to speak。 In a more general sense， a lot of the time we just feel bored and want some entertainment， right？ Well， let’s look at this a bit deeper。

Why is it that those teenagers at the mall can’t seem to handle a single face-to-face conversation without checking their phones every few minutes？ Well， it’s part of the social media addiction， sure。 But how did that addiction form？

When we

inundate ourselves with information

like this， we tend to need more and more

stimuli

to satisfy that desire and maintain that high。 You may feel this yourself with a little experiment。

If you know you are one of those people who likes to check Facebook or Twitter or Reddit or whatever else on an

hour-by-hour

（or minute-by-minute） basis， take your phone from your purse or pocket or from where it’s sitting next to you on the counter and go put it in a place in another room and make sure it is on silent。 Leave it there and come back to this book。 Let’s see how you feel a little later。 Maybe this will give you some insight into your own relationship with social media！

Social media or technology addiction

forms the same way

drug addiction

forms。 That little sound indicating we’ve got a message on our phones triggers the same areas of pleasure that certain drugs activate in our brains。

The more we form a routine

and habit of checking our phones and

feeding our brains with images and texts

， the more our brain asks us for more。。。and more， and more。 Eventually， we may get to a point where we really don’t know what to do with ourselves if our phone breaks or dies or we lose it somewhere at a party。 Those few hours or days without a phone feel like a traumatic disconnection from life and the world。

But the important thing to realize is that—it’s all an

illusion

。 Those

social media sites

and feeds

are designed to keep you wanting more and to keep you addicted

。

Professionals in marketing know just how long to make those ads on Facebook that

nestle

themselves in your feeds after you’ve bought something similar on another site。

Tabloid

stories know how to

phrase the title of a story to get you to click on it

and earn them views， which translate to dollars。

Influencers

learn what their followers like and give them more of what keeps them coming back， whether its tips on makeup， sketch comedy， parodies or famous celebrities， video game professional feeds， etc。 There is something for everyone out there。 It is an amazingly addictive and inevitable result of modern technology。

So what’s so bad about information overload？ We like to watch YouTube and keep up with people’s lives on Twitter， what’s so wrong with that？ Well， let’s take a deeper look at what’s happening in our brains as a result of information overload and how it can affect important aspects of our ability to make decisions。

Information Overload and Decision-Making

Did you know that， according to a survey conducted by the McKinsey Global Institute， 25% of work time for the average worker is spent managing email？ I’ll be honest， when I first read this， I was not surprised。 Many of my friends are professionals in various fields and receive hundreds of emails a week。 Staying on top of this mountain of communication sounds overwhelming to me， let alone trying to do your job at the same time。

We’ve talked about information overload in regard to social media， and I started with this topic because it might be the most accessible way to

broach the topic

。 Now， let’s look at information overload

from a different angle

many of us can relate to—information overload at work。

In the email scenario， I can’t personally imagine trying to sort through that much email， especially if half of them are expecting a response。 Let’s go ahead and add to this scenario， though。 You work in an office， receiving tons of email a day， but your position also dictates that you answer the phone throughout the day， directing each

caller

to the appropriate extension， answering questions about the business， etc。 On top of this， you are expected to sort through a large stack of paperwork and fill out forms regarding customers’ financial information and accounts。 Sounds like quite the job， doesn’t it？ Let’s imagine you are quite overwhelmed at first， but eventually you figure out a way to handle all of that information。 And you know what？ It feels good。 It feels great to feel like you can handle that much of a workload and walk out at the end of the day

with your sanity

。 But。。。how much sanity do you really have left at the end of the day？ There may be something going on that you don’t even realize yet。

Information overload

has a chronic effect on

our ability to make decisions。 And much of the time， we don’t even know it’s happening。

I used to work in a coffee shop as a teenager， and one of the things I prided myself on was my ability to

multitask

。 Eventually， I started working long shifts by myself， handling lines of customers that sometimes stretched out the door and down the hallways！ I soon learned to work very， very quickly。 I would juggle making drinks and handling cash like some kind of food service ninja。 I was proud of it， too。 I felt like I was working really hard and accomplishing something that demanded skill and finesse。 And it certainly does。 The problem was that after a while， I started to notice symptoms of “burnout，” which is the eventual result of information overload， which is associated with

chronic multitasking

。

Much like burnout resulting from watching too many YouTube videos at once， the demand I was putting on my brain’s processing power was getting to be too much。 At a certain point， this burnout manifests into making mistakes。 Perhaps I get tired toward the end of my shift and make incorrect change for a customer， who subsequently becomes very upset， exacerbating and transforming physical and mental fatigue into emotional fatigue。 You may be starting to see where this is going。

Information overload leads to burnout leads to poor

decision-making

，

oftentimes

when we don’t even suspect it’s happening。

We’re all familiar with the image of a “

workaholic

，” someone

who seems to work nonstop， obsessed with the idea that they can be a perfectionist at what they do

， never taking a break。 What we learn very quickly， as either

an observer

or as the workaholic himself， is that this is not sustainable。 Eventually， our brains start to send signals of

fatigue

。 At this point， we can either accept that we need to slow down or ignore the signal and keep going。 This is where bad decision-making comes into play。

Bad decision-making can refer to a lot of different things， not just related to work， but in our relationships with others。 As discussed earlier in the chapter on sources of overthinking， an inundation of information related to how a relationship should look can lead to poor decision-making and belief systems when it comes to our personal lives。 At a certain point， it becomes very difficult to step outside of the information we’ve been flooding our minds with in order to see our own situations clearly。

As divorce rates show

， many people seem to start out

with a conviction

that they know what they want and need from a person， then somewhere down the line， that changes。 Is this shift influenced by what we see in other people’s relationships？ Those superficial and doctored portrayals of happiness and perfection in social media？ I personally think there is a good chance that this plays at least a partial role in the gradual breakdown of many relationships that may have started out strong。 It’s not surprising that in a society that markets to people with the message that “

you’re worth it

” and that you should never

settle for less than

the American dream—perfect marriage to a beautiful， sexy

spouse

， perfect kids， big house， dream job， and a nice car—the challenges of a real relationship

prompt

some to give up。 Maybe we decide that there just has to be someone else out there who will give us that perfect， easy，

uncomplicated

life we see in movies。

But of course， that’s not the case。 Real relationships take real work， not just the right shampoo or hundred-dollar monthly facials。

Some decisions made in the heat of information overload carry more severe and long-lasting effects than others。

In the midset of information overload

， our brains try to draw

vital

information to inform a decision from

a

massive

pool of unnecessary and

extraneous

information

。 The risk of bad decision-making increases with the rate at which we are expected to make these decisions。 For example， if you have a mere three seconds to decide which exit to take on the interstate and you’ve got GPS going on your phone， the radio blaring in your ears， children screaming in the backseat， and a police car racing by with the

siren blaring

， you’re going to have a lot more trouble making this decision than if you were riding alone， radio at a reasonable level， having already reviewed before leaving the house which exit you need to take。 Our brains don’t always separate vital from nonvital information the way we want them to。 Information overload like this can easily turn ugly if a driver makes a wrong decision then gets upset。 Now emotions are involved， like

frustration

， and this only heightens the intensity of information overload， leading to poorer decision-making。

In a more professional setting， consider an air traffic controller who is responsible for many flights coming in at the same time。 Hopefully， each employee is trained and used to handling such a workload， but

in a split second

， one bad decision resulting from information overload can affect the lives of hundreds of people。

The message is clear： Information overload can lead to poor decision-making that affects not only our lives but the lives of others。

Now that we understand how information overload is affecting

our brains

， let’s talk about some strategies to help pull ourselves out。

Moving Away from Information Overload

As you’ve probably

concluded

by now in your life， there is no complete removing yourself from the tornado of information overload that seems to seep into every corner of modern life。 But there are ways to move away from information overload through slowly removing the sources of those

stimuli

in your life。

The first step is always recognizing that this inundation of information is negatively impacting your life in some way。 Whether it’s a

negative emotion

， like low self-esteem， or a performance issue at work， you’ve recognized that overloading your brain has

diminished your ability to

discern

what is worth your emotional and physical energy and what is not。

How are you feeling now that you’ve been away from your phone for a few minutes？ Did you forget you put it away？ Or have you been fighting the urge to get up and check it？ Either of these reactions is ok， because now you know a little bit more about

how unconsciously or consciously addicted you

may have become to your phone and whatever apps you tend to frequently use throughout the day。

One of the best things you can do to get this ball rolling is to commit to limiting your phone time each day。 Even if it’s just a little bit at first， do your best to replace the time you usually spend on your phone with other activities— activities that don’t involve a screen。 Go outside and take a walk， listen to some soft music without lyrics， play with your dog or cat， or get one of those coloring books for adults。

Another thing you can do is

limit your multitasking

。 I know， it sounds like I’m telling you to take it easy or work less。 It’s not a matter of encouraging laziness。 You will find that the quality of your work output will improve the more you commit to focusing on one task at a time。 Instead of getting a million things done at a time with a standard or

below-standard result

， you will complete each task and exceed even your own expectations for what you thought you could do。

Make an actual phone call and set up a time to meet up with a friend for coffee at a quiet restaurant， or maybe your own home。 Commit to putting each of your cell phones aside， on silent， and have a face-to-face conversation。 Try to avoid topics in the media and talk about more meaningful topics。 Ask how she or he is really doing， how they are feeling。 You may end up making connections you haven’t made in years。

Take a break from your desk at work at least once an hour to walk around and stretch your legs。 This may not seem to have anything to do with information overload， but focusing on many tasks over a long period of time tends to take our attention away from physical health。 Sitting is not great for our bodies， and it helps a lot to get up， even just for a few minutes， at least once every hour。 Take a walk around the office， go get a drink， or walk around the building if it’s a nice day。 You’ll be surprised at how much better you’ll feel， and it’s like giving your mind a reboot in the middle of possible information overload。

Finally， take a break from all those

doom and gloom

stories being reported nonstop in the news。 I know， it’s good to stay informed on what’s going on in our world， but you can overdo it。 News media is just as addictive as social media and overloading yourself with information like this can cause information overload just as quickly。 It is especially important to constantly monitor where you are getting your news information from。 Be careful who you choose to follow and what news sources you choose to get your information from。 Research the facts they’re presenting and see if they

line up with

what you find。

Cross-reference information

with other news sources and see if they align。 It’s not an easy task， but you can take steps to protect yourself from

less-than-creditable news sources

。

Now that you’ve

made strides toward

removing sources of information overload in your life， it’s time to deal with the overload that’s already there。 In the next chapter， we’ll talk about how to declutter your mind to

make room for a whole new outlook on life

。