The beautiful thing about the advancement of technology is that we now have quick access to information. We’re able to surf the web with our phones while on the go and get the answers we need by conducting a simple search on the Internet. You can do this research from the comfort of your own home or anywhere else for that matter. Performing a simple search on the Internet will give you an answer to your question, so the period between not knowing something and knowing something is a mere second. We now have the ability to share information at a speed that once was thought to be impossible.
You can’t deny that information is essential. Without the Internet, social media sites, and blogs, it would be hard for any one person to keep up with the latest news on topics that are of interest. With television and newspapers, you are only provided information that the producers or editors deem to be important. With the Internet, you are in complete control of what you read and can create filters on information and news that suit your interests. Although technology can help to reduce the information overload that we all experience, it can also contribute to the problem.
With the steady stream of information that is easily accessible, you would expect that people would be more knowledgeable. And perhaps they are, but one thing that this constant flood of information has brought is addictive behaviors. In today’s age of information and technology, people can’t seem to go without their computers or smartphones. A typical scenario that has emerged along with these technological advancements is the constant need to check email and social media accounts.
This constant onslaught of information by our electronic communication devices has caused people to have shorter attention spans. Some believe that information overload has had a detrimental effect on verbal communication skills. The leading cause of these declining skills is multitasking, a response due in part to information overload.
What Information Overload Does to the Brain
As the technological environment speeds up to a dizzying degree, Torkel Kleinberg, a professor of developmental cognitive neuroscience at Karolinska Institute in Sweden warns that “the immense burden of information overload and multitasking can exceed the limits of our slowly evolving stone-age brain.” In 2008, he used data showing the subtle increase in IQ scores during the last century and its link to educational improvements. He discovered that there were gaps between the rapid transmission of information via high-tech, electronic devices and the brain’s relatively slower capacity to process information, ultimately leading to memory malfunctions.
Information overload has given us a glimpse into the environment that we must encounter daily. Many would argue that while we are under a constant barrage of sensory information and that our minds can filter out the trivial or unimportant information that is in front of us. However, after years of research on the brain, and the capability of working memory, it’s clear that it isn’t so simple to filter out the information that isn’t important. To understand how to succeed in this new world of information overload, we must understand our capabilities as well as our limitations.
The Limits of Working Memory
You’re on the couch watching TV after a long and stressful day. An ad comes on that reminds you that you need to order some more baby formula. Before you forget, you decide to get your laptop from the office and place an order. You get up off the couch and grab your coffee cup to put in the dishwasher on your way to your home office.
While you’re in the kitchen, your husband asks what your schedule is for tomorrow, and reminds you that your son needs to be picked up from soccer practice at 6 pm. You tell him that it shouldn’t be a problem and remind yourself to enter it into your calendar. You continue on to your office. You enter the doorway and can do nothing but look around. Your mind is blank, other than the fact that you remembered you had to do something in the office.
We’ve all dealt with this situation and is a perfect example of the limitations of our working memory. Your working memory is like having a notepad next to you wherever you go. However, the pen that you use has invisible ink that will disappear after a short time. Working memory has always had its limitations, yet, in today’s world, these limitations cause a significant amount of stress and sense of overwhelm.
Working memory is defined as “the system responsible for the transient holding and procession of new and already-stored information, and is an important process for reasoning, comprehension, learning and memory updating.” Working memory, in actuality, is an umbrella term that includes the central executive and its related subsystems that are required to process information that comes into our minds.
Often, working memory is confused with short-term memory; however, the term working memory is actually more appropriate for understanding how we process information, as well as helping us to understand the parameters that we need to work within.
It is essential that you understand that this capability of processing information is stored for a short amount of time in our brains. A good example is walking into another room and forgetting what you were looking for. To recover a memory that was lost in working memory, you have to apply other associations, using your long-term memory to recover the specific object you were looking for in the first place.
The events that we are confronted with on a daily basis consist of information overload. Our inability to handle information have detrimental effects on our capacity to create the focused attention that we need for quality work. There are several studies that indicate that what we’re experiencing in our information-overloaded lives is akin to the symptoms of ADHD.
Scientific research regarding the ability to improve working memory stems from the science of brain elasticity, or the analogy that your brain is a muscle that can be exercised and developed over time. In today’s hectic and information burdened world, we need a set of skills that allow us to combat the ever-growing amount of information that is looking to invade our consciousness.
Nobody is Immune from Information Overload
If you own a computer, TV, radio, or cell phone, you are prone to succumbing to information overload. Our minds have become so busy processing the information that we’ve become disconnected form face-to-face, personal connections. The issue has now become how we can manage the bombardment of information, so we can get back to living a more productive life.
