A LOT of the information in our heads come from our phone, previously called the “third screen” after the first (cinema) and second (television), both fading in significance. On this smallest screen we watch programs, stream songs, and get both our genuine and fake news, as well as spurious facts like using soft drinks for cleaning the toilet. There may even now be a fourth and smaller screen on our wrists which informs us of the number of steps we have walked and even checks our pulse rate and incoming messages. It even tells time in two zones.
“Information overload” or “data fog” has to do with getting streams of data from all sources, mostly the Internet and media. Even stored contact information need to be cleaned up for the contacts who have passed away — what if they call?
As in a buffet table (all you can eat for a fixed price), we may need to skip many dishes on offer and just concentrate on a few we really like and are not allergic to. Attempting to eat everything, just because we can, is bound to result in a heart attack. (Beware of fake carrots that come with a stick.)
When dealing with the data fog, screening is essential. There is an implicit plea then to provide just sufficient information to keep conversation flowing, without sacrificing interest and some appetite for just a few details.
In social conversations like what takes place with chat groups, relevance of data is achieved when a specific inquiry is addressed to someone with the needed information. While this may be a moving target, at least the details requested are specific — whatever happened to our old classmate waiting for a transplant? The search for answers is defined. Even in a Viber group, someone is bound to provide the response, not always accurate but at least limited to the query.
Focusing on a specific area of common interest narrows the scope of needed information. Would you discuss office politics and the perfidy of associates with a cousin visiting from Denver? 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 the other party.
Staying with a relevant topic of common interest to all sides can be a problem with barely known acquaintances or newly met associates. The game of six degrees of separation starts. Common acquaintances, distant relatives, school backgrounds, career paths end up with some eureka moment — we have the same father.
Current news provides a haven for small talk if one stays away from political leanings, religious beliefs, and philosophies in life. The Spanish kiss, the war in Ukraine, the gun-toting road rage incident, and some threatening weather disturbance may be passé but still safely relevant.
It is still possible to wander off into farfetched topics which seem irrelevant, like the intricacies of portfolio management. If the matter of the stagnant performance of the equity market comes up, for example, it is enough for intelligent conversation to delve on the option of fixed income or the lure of foreign stocks — keep away from property stocks in China. Why was there no honeymoon rally at all when the new administration was sworn in? This one skirts the political arena.
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. Determining what is relevant takes discipline. If we are driving up to Baguio, it’s a matter of concentrating on the route to take and the time to get there. The restaurants along the way may be relevant only if they don’t require a detour of one hour.
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.
Is there a different rule for the wide reader who astounds the algorithm of online booksellers by the breadth of purchases of e-books like thrillers, stoic philosophies, the Spanish civil war, the Tudor reign of Henry VIII, classics from Charles Dickens and Alexandre Dumas, and business books on behavioral economics?
Wandering aimlessly in the fog of data can lead to creativity, but more probably to boredom and the urge to switch channels… as the fog goes into the cloud.
Tony Samson is chairman and CEO of TOUCH xda
