Information Overload

Here is an interesting statistic from Time magazine: each day the average American spends about 12 hours consuming information, taking in more than 100,000 words. That is as amazing as it is mind-boggling. While I do tap into a number of information sources each day, I never even thought of it in terms of word exposure. It raises the question of when does this get to be too much. At what point do our minds hit overload and words begin pouring over the side of our brains similar to the way water overflows from a bucket? In my case, at least, I need to acknowledge that that overflow may have already started.

I suspect I may not be alone. When you think of the number of websites people visit each day, the number of television and radio programs they watch, the number of people with whom they interact, and even the number of written messages they read, then it is easier to see how the Time magazine statistic is not unreasonable. At the same time, it still does not make it any less than a very high number of words. Assuming our brains do have the capacity to process these many words, then how well are we able to define, understand and contend with them? How well are we able to determine a viable response to them?

This makes for a major communication challenge. If you are a public relations professional, for example, trying to drive-home a particular message or information on behalf of a client to specific publics, then the odds of coming even close to success are definitely less than half. Not only are you competing with your direct competitors, but you are also trying to contend with thousands upon thousands of other communicators sending out communiques having nothing to do with your subject matter. No wonder people tend to settle in with sources of communication with which they feel most comfortable and no wonder it can be very difficult to break into those comfort zones.