Hypermedia and Information Overload
It is rare to find a website on the Internet without some sort of graphic on the page. There is a shift in which hypermedia is dominating the World Wide Web. Bolter discusses the changing relationship between prose in print and the encroachment of the visual in the writing space as print technology transitions in the age of computers. He claims that “printed books, magazines, and newspapers are changing typographically and visually by incorporating more elaborate graphics, while at the same time prose is attempting to remake itself in order to reflect and rival the cultural power of the image” (Bolter, 2001). A relationship of conflict and challenge is implied as the visual image and printed word compete with each other to convey meaning in the hopes of catching the readers’ attention.
Is the written word no longer applicable on the Internet? Why write a paragraph when one picture will describe a situation (perhaps more effectively as well). Bolter mourns the changing role of text when he states, “Words no longer seem to carry conviction without the reappearance as a picture of the imagery that is latent in them” (Bolter, 2001). Perhaps we are moving towards the incorporation of graphics in order to remediate the language experience and make it immediately accessible.
A question that we must ask ourselves is can we handle this abundance of immediate information provided by hypermedia? Where do we draw the line when it comes to too much information?
Information overload is a major concern in modern life. We find ourselves constantly absorbing information through the Internet or our smartphones. There are emails to respond to, posts to write, and a bombardment of notifications from social media, links to news articles or spending hours and hours on YouTube watching videos on a wide array of topics.
This overload of information can cause people to feel anxious. As Edmunds and Morris state, “There cannot be many people who have not experienced the feeling of having too much information which uses up too much of their time, causing them to feel stressed which, in turn, affects their decision-making. Concurrent with these phenomena is the anxiety generated by worrying whether an important piece of information has been missed in the volume of material that is being processed” (2000, p.19).
It seems like hypermedia has a big role to play in information overload but perhaps we can all question ourselves as to whether we sometimes add to someone else’s overload of information. We are the ones sending out emails or texts. We are the ones updating social media, uploading videos or sharing new articles with one another. User-based websites, such as Reddit, rely on users to upload links to content to the website. It provides links to articles, videos, photos, and almost anything you can think of. That being said, who is responsible for the information overload? The site which hosts it or the users who upload it? We all have to be aware of the effect information overload has on us.
References
Bolter, J. David. “The Breakout of the Visual.” Writing Space: Computers, Hypertext, and the History of Writing. New York: Routledge, 2011.
Edmunds, A. & Morris, A. (2000). The problem of information overload in business organizations: A review of the literature. International Journal of Information Management 20(2000), 17-28.
I agree with your statements about information overload. Your question about who is responsible for the information overload in my opinion is the users who upload it. My sister and I, who acknowledges that she has anxiety, recently had a conversation about the amount of time she spends on her phone reading text. She is constantly looking up information and searching articles about anything pertinent to her life. I think her constant need to research information is because of her “anxiety generated by worrying whether an important piece of information has been missed in the volume of material that is being processed” (Edmunds & Morris, 2000, p. 19). I definitely think the amount of information she takes on affects her decision-making process. Ever since beginning my MET program journey two years ago, I have become more aware of how much time I spend on technology and I try to limit my time to prevent overloading myself with information. It is easy to wind up spending hours of time just clinking on hyperlinks throughout articles or blogs that lead you onto other information to read or videos to watch.
I think text is still applicable on the Internet as “the reflexive character of each technology permits writers to find themselves in the texts they create and therefore to know themselves in a new way” (Bolter, 2001, p.189). Text alone or alongside images can present a view that represents the writer in a unique way for the reader. Participating in our class weblog and reading all the commentary has definitely expanded my view of writing and text and all its components.
Bolter. Jay David. (2001). Writing Space: Computers, Hypertext and the Remediation of Print. New Jersey: Erlbaum.
Edmunds, A. & Morris, A. (2000). The problem of information overload in business organizations: A review of the literature. International Journal of Information Management 20(2000), 17-28.
The presence of text in newspapers and on the internet is certainly still abundant and Bolter (2001) makes a valuable point about the attempt of prose to rival the image. He even sees prose as a form of failure in a digital story that should only be used as a last resort. I found this statement shocking upon first glance, however after careful reflection and consideration of the range audience viewing most publications I understood the reasons for such a statement.
Bolter (2001) says “Hypermedia can be regarded as a kind of picture writing, which refashions the qualities of both traditional picture writing and phonetic writing.” It can be seen as a return to orality and the modes of thinking described by Ong (1982). However our ability to capture images and the advancement of photography thus modify our need to remember images in the same way that our need to remember text or words was altered by our ability to write. Visual elements therefore become “modes of representation” (Kress, 2005).
Your comment that “Text alone or alongside images can present a view that represents the writer in a unique way for the reader” resonates with the idea that Bolter presents in Chapter 9 of “Writing Spaces”. He claims that we write to display who we are and define ourselves in a flexible and dynamic manner. Although I agree with this statement, I do see the value of visual representation because it captures a greater audience and can represent the author’s personality just as powerfully if not even better than text.
Bolter, J. D. (2001) Writing Spaces: Computers, Hypertext and the Remediation of Print. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers: Mahwah, Ner Jersey London.
Kress, Gunter. (2005). “Gains and losses: New forms of texts, knowledgeand learning. Computers and Composition. 22(1), 5-22.Retrieved, August 15, 2009, from
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.compcom.2004.12.004
Ong, Walter. (1982.) Orality and literacy: The technologizing of the word. London: Methuen
I appreciated your discussion regarding how information overload is a major concern in modern life. I’m sure we have all felt overwhelmed with the plethora of information we have at our fingertips.
Interestingly, two of my previous professors (Stephen Petrina & Franc Feng) at UBC discussed the how the power and potential of e Learning is also its problem or pitfall. They explained how the 24/7 access and presence overburden and overwhelm systems of learning and teaching. In response to these strains, their answer was a new supportive theory called SOUL. Slow online and ubiquitous learning (SOUL) was founded with the concerns with the health and wellbeing of individuals (teachers and students). They continued to explain how unprecedented paces with volumes of messages it is impossible for participants in e-Learning or online education to co-respond or be answerable to each other. Discourse is possible but dialogue less so under fast-paced, communication-saturated conditions.
As they stated, SOUL, in online courses in the MET program at UBC, we stop or pause from Blackboard or Vista for two days each week (i.e., 0 posts except private posts for planning). In effect, the pause means a pause in access, including discussion posts (limit to sparse posts only for assignments) for working on the readings and thoughtful engagement with the assignments. For all participants throughout the term a second mode of moderation entails quantitatively fewer posts and qualitatively better posts. This means about one or two messages or posts per week for each student and teacher as co-respondents in conversation. This also means a thoughtful engagement with the readings, assignments, modules, and discussions each week (
Does anyone else engage in this theory? When I was introduced to the Philosophy of SOUL I felt it was balance that really needed. I cannot say for sure I am fully relieved from the pressures to be connected 24/7 but I am trying to limit this relation.
References:
Feng, F. & Petrina, S. (2014). e-Learning and educational technology with SOUL (slow online & ubiquitous learning) Retrieved from https://blogs.ubc.ca/etec/files/2012/03/SOUL.pdf
I am a huge fan of the SOUL method and this course somewhat seems to follow something similar in that we only have so many posts to make over the entire course (essentially three original ones and six responses). I hated some of my earlier MET courses because of the artificial environment that was created by forced postings. Some courses had 1000s in the end! How can one read them all and absorb any of it? I’m certain that those instructors barely read any of them and simply relied on statistics to see who did what.
I also enjoyed the ‘SOUL’ philosophy for course work. I felt that it helped to define your tasks for the week. Reading the required content during the first couple days, then doing your comments/discussions after. It can sometimes feel overwhelming to try to keep up with all the peer created content on top of the course readings and assignments. Even for this course with the potentially reduced comment load we currently have roughly 300 full posts and more than 900 comments. Keeping up with all of that is a big task. SOUL allows a brief respite from the constant flow of information.
First of all, you had me at the Simpsons image! I am a sucker for any reference to this beloved show.
What stuck out for me with your post was the paragraph that starts with, “this overload of information can cause people to feel anxious.” The ‘clinical’ term for this is: FOMO, or fear of missing out. It was even added to the Oxford Dictionary in 2013! Kristi Hedges in Forbes Magazine writes, “that FOMO is often linked to feelings of disconnection and dissatisfaction, and that social media fuels it.” (Do you have FOMO?) Would FOMO exist without Facebook, Twitter and Instagram?
I can see FOMO in my student’s anxiety when I take their phones away. Some literally shake from withdrawal. I mean, shouldn’t someone be able to be away from their devices for 75 minutes? I was able to do it for nearly two weeks while in Kenya. It was refreshing and I didn’t really feel any FOMO or withdrawal. Maybe this is because I didn’t grow up in a social media world. How could I have FOMO when I didn’t know what happened on the weekend until Monday at school?
Since there seems to be no other pressing issues in the world, researchers have even created an online test (of course!) to see how much FOMO you suffer from! Apparently I’m in the low range for this ‘disorder’. Where do you fit?
In the end, FOMO is probably a result of this information overload as you have pointed out. How much information is too much? Are we at a point where we can’t go back and we continue to snowball forward with information, or will we reach a point of backlash where we fight back against all of this information?
Works Cited
Hedges, Kristi. “Do You Have FOMO: Fear Of Missing Out?” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 27 Mar. 2014. Web. 28 July 2015.
Stadd, Allison. “Do You Have Social Media FOMO? Take This Online Test To Find Out.” SocialTimes. Adweek, 1 Aug. 2013. Web. 28 July 2015.
Feeling Technostressed, Suffering from Infobesity, Wishing for Satisficing
While we can readily acknowledge the positive attributes of technology, I think it is important that we consider the negative impacts as well. As others have mentioned, I concur with the need for SOUL days as championed by Feng and Petrina.
I have found myself jittery, anxious, and constantly thinking about ways I could improve upon a post I have written, worried whether I have missed an important deadline, stressed over improving just one more thing in one of my media production pieces, or cited correctly and found myself overwhelmed at the sheer volume of articles that I have attempted to understand.
I decided to do a search on technology overuse and anxiety, just to see what the current research shows (again obsessing over getting just the ‘perfect’ piece of information). The first article to pop up carried this ominous title The dark side of information: overload, anxiety and other paradoxes and pathologies (2009) by David Bawdon and Lyn Robinson, which points out that while there are greater and greater amounts of information available through more formats and information channels, the look and feel of artifacts: a textbook, a newspaper, a hand-written diary, a printed journal article, or note is largely lost through a “homogenization” of the information. The authors suggest that this homogenization is at the root of many of the problems associated with information overload along with issues of information quality (lack) and quality (questionable) of authority. When discussing information overload, some fantastic terms from this article popped up which I will briefly outline here:
“Infobesity – “a term increasingly used to denote a situation of personal information overload, particularly if caused by a diet of information, akin to feasting on fast food”
Technostress – tech overload as a contributor to technostress in library settings (West, 2007)
Satisficing “is a popular heuristic way of coping, taking just enough information to meet a need, rather than being overwhelmed by all the information available; just enough information is good enough.”
In addition to information overload, Bawden and Robinson point to concerns with the “loss of identity inherent in tools which allow anonymity and pseudonimity in their contributors” with false wikis or false personas, making it difficult to assess Web information validity. So as not subject anyone else to technostress with too much techno lingo overloading, I’ll sign off!
Word count: 380
References:
Bawden, D., & Robinson, L. (2009). The dark side of information: Overload, anxiety and other paradoxes and pathologies
West, J. (2007). Technophobia, technostress and technorealism. Bawden, D, & Robinson, L.(2009), op. cit.
I know from my personal and professional life the draw of emails, app notifications, and social media. As we have moved from the personal computer to the smart phone we have also moved to 24/7 connectivity. No longer do we check our email when you pass by your computer, now our phones vibrate and buzz constantly. For many social media creates the biggest pull. Through social media we are continuously viewing the best aspects of peoples’ lives from the tens to hundreds of our peers. While it’s nice to live vicariously through our friends, there is also a darker side. It can make you feel inadequate in your own life when you see amazing event after amazing even that others are doing, while you are simply looking at your phone or computer. As mentioned in earlier posts this is the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO). In real life, (i.e. not Facebook friends), long term social connections can predict greater life satisfaction, confidence, positive affect, and greater aspirations (Jose, Ryan, & Pryor, 2012). However, connecting through social media can actually have the opposite effect. Too much connectivity can actually cause loneliness (Turkle, 2011) as well as increased stress (Quan-Haase & Collins, 2008).
What I’d like to add is that there is also frequently a feeling of inadequacy that can happen. This could be from the photo-shopped fitness/workout photos or videos that are shared, the new cars, jewellery, homes, dinners, etc., that you see others enjoying. So not only does the constant connectedness of our devices make us feel like we are missing out on life, it can also make us feel that we need to buy and consume more to keep up with others. Due to the constant sharing of the best parts of other’s lives many people may feel like they are not good/fit enough, their things aren’t nice enough, or their social lives are too boring. And to top it all off is that by carrying our phones with us constantly, we potentially can never escape these feelings of inadequacy. Predictably, when a person has material dissatisfaction there is a corresponding decrease in overall life satisfaction (Richins, 1987). Therefore, for many people, between FOMO and an increase in material dissatisfaction caused by social media, using social media may actually be making you unhappy.
References
Jose, P. E., Ryan, N., & Pryor, J. (2012). Does Social Connectedness Promote a Greater Sense of Well‐Being in Adolescence Over Time?. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 22(2), 235-251.
Richins, M. L. (1987). Media, materialism, and human happiness. Advances in consumer research, 14(1), 352-356.
Turkle, S. (April 21, 2011). The flight from conversation. The New York Times. Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/22/opinion/sunday/the-flight-from-conversation.html?pagewanted=all&_r=5&
Quan-Haase, A., & Collins, J. L. (2008). I’m there, but I might not want to talk to you. Information, Communication & Society, 11(4), 526-543.
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