“Data dump” is defined as the transfer of large amounts of data from one system or location to another. It refers to a machine-to-machine transaction. But, does data dump have a social counterpart?
The modern problem of “information overload” is growing. It has to do with getting streams of data from all sources, especially from the Internet and social media. It’s a bombardment of news, opinion, gossip, and statistics. As in a buffet table, the prospect of indigestion is all too real. Attempting to eat everything, just because it’s available and we can, is bound to result in the embarrassment of a messy table that needs to be cleaned up afterwards.
When dealing with limitless information, screening has become a matter of necessity. A decision needs to be made on what articles to read, books to pick up, and movies to see. Even with short blogs and video clips (I have a pen; I have an apple) and the hits they elicit, selectivity is still essential.
As in an art exhibit featuring, say social realism, it is critical to have a proper curator to choose significant works and give them their proper setting. Not all works can make it to the show. So what to leave out is just as important as what to include.
In small talk, no information on the weather, political views, and social relationships is considered irrelevant. The layers of detail invite the expression “too much information (TMI).” There is an implicit plea to provide just sufficient information to keep conversation flowing, without sacrificing interest and plot lines.
Informational efficiency is achieved when a specific inquiry is addressed to someone who can provide the analysis and the facts. If you need to confirm the current status of a former associate or ascertain the gravity of someone’s illness, the required input is quite defined. On the Internet, this straight-to-the-point search may entail checking the source and wording of a quotation, the name of an author of a book, or the year a particular historical event happened.
Focusing only on a particular area of common interest specifies the needed information. Would you discuss office politics and the perfidy of associates or impossible revenue targets being foisted on you by your boss with your cousin from Massachusetts in a family reunion? He couldn’t care less about your career challenges, or even successes. In the matter of social graces, we need to instinctively avoid imposing on the attention span of others. Maybe gossip on other relatives and effective ways to avoid traffic (just stay at home) would be more apropos.
Of course, it is still possible to wander off into farfetched topics which seem irrelevant, like the intricacies of The Last Jedi or the intricacies of tax reform. Isn’t this what small talk is about? If the performance of the stock market comes up, for example, it is enough for an intelligent conversation to drop words like rallies and corrections. You don’t need a power point presentation to show how conglomerates behave differently from stand-alone corporations.
It is clear then that the best way to handle information overload is to simply ignore most of it. Just because it’s there doesn’t mean it needs to be digested or even browsed. Like packing for a vacation, needs determine the clothes and items to bring to avoid taking along too much and being overweight even before the shopping. Indifference and the readiness to be considered out of the loop are a small price to pay for sanity.
Still, the functional use of information only applies to surfing the net on the computer or smart phone. The pragmatic approach to information can be discernment, especially when it comes to fake news (he fainted twice in his office) and conspiracy theories — guess who’s waiting in the wings?
An avid reader is prepared to be surprised and delighted with areas of knowledge some may consider worthless like stoicism, Philippine history, the randomness of success, or landscape architecture. We should also try not to be deprived of the joys of understanding how the Roman Empire fell, what civil wars can teach us about fanaticism, or why bit coins shouldn’t pique our interest.
Information which does not seem to serve any practical value may save us from being bored. What we should avoid is being boring… and the fear of missing out (FOMO).
A. R. Samson is chair and CEO of Touch DDB.
