Help! Information Overload
Data detox: How to be mindful of what information you take in
Media Outlet: Marie Claire UK
Photographer: Olivia Malone
Model: Nicole Atieno
Stylist: April Hughes
You've probably heard it before, ‘too much information can be bad for you’. There was that friend you had who never read the news. The colleague who avoided social media like the plague. We may have found that odd, but somehow it kept them grounded. Jean Baudrillard said ‘We live in a world where there is more and more information and less and less meaning.’
We live in an age of information overload. The answer to seemingly every question is at the tips of our fingers. And even without asking for the information, it comes thick and fast.
‘Too much information can be bad for you.’
The infinite source of good or bad?
Studies have shown that about 90% of the information reported by the media will have a negative message. We read stories of murders, crises, wars, political meltdowns etc, and mentions of inspirational stories, achievements or good works are few and far between. The feeding of destructive information can make us more anxious; overexposure to negative data will grow roots of negativity. Information overload can lead to brain fog, make decision making a challenge, trigger anxiety and make it harder to focus. The Bible, in Proverbs 4:23, says ‘Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it, flow the springs of life.’ Research has shown that taking in too much information, whether, through media, social networks, or a variety of different technologies can take over our sense of self-worth and identity.
Slow down
We live in an era of pace, every second counts and as fast as information changes, so does our perception of time. The speed of lives can stop us from being fully present in any one moment, and we can allow our conversations to be dictated by popular videos or the latest scandal, without fully connecting.
SLOWING DOWN helps us to be happy. The more we can apply this, the less negativity we allow in. Being in the here and now enables us to create memories that we can remember.
‘While keeping ourselves informed we need to create boundaries.’
Unplug with boundaries
Take time out from social media, watching the news, reading newspapers, and be intentional about the information you are feeding yourself. We cannot consume every drop of information there is, and we are in control of what we focus on. Unplugging will allow us to see the beauty of our surroundings and will enable us to take part in meaningful activities while giving our mind a break from too much data. Unplugging can be as simple as setting a limit on how much time you will spend on social networks. It can be putting your phone on aeroplane mode for an hour, because sometimes even if you have no social media, you may have emails that flow through at a rapid pace. Intentional boundaries can help in controlling what we let in our system.
The book of Proverbs, the Bible’s book of wisdom, in chapter 4:20, says, ‘My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart; for they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh.’ God tells us to guard what we hear and see. If we only feed on the media, newspapers and the unending information online, it does not benefit us. At the same time, while we keep ourselves informed of current affairs, we still need to create boundaries by slowing down and unplugging. Knowing what is right for us will help us to take in quality information. When we become aware of what we allow ourselves to feed on, we become intentional in what is good for us. Just as we take care of our body and eat food that nourishes us, in the same way, we should feed our mind the good and not the bad.
WORDS BY
Kumbi Ncube
