Information overload

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Information overload (including information overload , english information overload or English flood information ) referred to in the Informetrie in a first meaning the state of a person that too many information gets sent to them to be able to process in a timely manner.

General

In addition to information science , information overload is increasingly being investigated in economics , computer science , psychology and engineering . The consequence of information overload is a deterioration in the decision-making ability of a decision-maker .

In the second meaning it can also denote a technique of manipulation . The English term information overload was coined in 1970 by Alvin Toffler in his book Future Shock .

Large amounts ("flood") of old data , newly added data, contradictions in existing data and a low signal-to-noise ratio , i.e. high noise (in the figurative sense), make it difficult to filter information (= important from To separate the unimportant and the interesting from the uninteresting). Ignorance of methods of comparing and processing information can increase this effect. An important filter is selective perception .

reasons

Reasons for the information overload are:

In the case of e-mails , information is sent to the recipients in the form of push communication, whereby messages can be sent to many recipients at the same time as carbon copies . This so-called posting (comparable to a bulletin board , which also makes information partially public) increases the total number of messages considerably.

Information overload and propaganda

Emma Briant characterizes this propaganda technique as follows:

  • "Information overload can have the same effect as secrecy and can certainly be seen as more effective in the short term and for democracies today."
  • "When information overload occurs, it is likely that decision quality will be compromised."
  • "The flood of information generated by modern technology [...] threatens to make the recipient passive. Overload leads to detachment."

This technique is also shown by Rainer Mausfeld . The connection between the flood of information and the faster spread of fake news is controversial.

In a broader sense, propagandistic use is also about flooding the recipient with a flood of contradicting, vague and unfounded or invented information that makes orientation impossible and thus leads to uncertainty and disbelief.

Handling

Starting points for counteracting information overload are:

  • to improve one's own skills and knowledge in dealing with information. This includes education in the areas of self-management , information management and media literacy with the aim, among other things, of systematically setting priorities and applying measures so that the information received does not get out of hand so that it is no longer manageable.
  • to improve the quality of information in the work environment. This can be done, for example, by introducing quality standards and rules for information and communication as well as better structuring and visualizing information.
  • the organization of work to improve. This means that important work can be completed without interruption. It should be clearly communicated to information providers which information is required and which is not. Technology (e.g. email filters) can be used to filter and organize information.

Online communities

The term information overload is commonly used in connection with various forms of network-based communication such as

The ability to process information, which is limited depending on the individual, restricts online communities in their activity. As the number of contributions increases, community members react by ignoring information, reducing their contributions or leaving the community entirely; In those with a high growth in members, increasing emigration and falling contributions from previous members were observed, which, in addition to the so-called social idleness , is ascribed to the information overload as a counterpart to the network effect.

The effectiveness of an information overload depends heavily on the software in question. In communities where asynchronous communication predominates, for example, it is viewed as less than in those with synchronous communication .

Quotes

“The flood of information generated by modern technologies threatens to let the addressees sink into passivity. Seely Brown makes a helpful distinction between information and communication here. An overabundance of information is not a minor problem. Large amounts of raw data constitute a political fact. The growing amounts of data lead to a centralization of control. In communication, on the other hand, the amount of information is reduced by the interaction of people and their interpretations. Editing and omitting are procedures that bring about a decentralization of communication. "

- Richard Sennett


See also

literature

  • Peter Gordon Roetzel: Information overload in the information age: a review of the literature from business administration, business psychology, and related disciplines with a bibliometric approach and framework development. In: Business Research , 2019, 12 (2): 479-522, DOI: 10.1007 / s40685-018-0069-z .
  • Martin J. Eppler, Jeanne Mengis: The concept of information overload: a review of literature from organization science, accounting, marketing, MIS, and related disciplines. In: The Information Society , 20, 2004, pp. 325-344.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Peter Gordon Roetzel: Information overload in the information age: a review of the literature from business administration, business psychology, and related disciplines with a bibliometric approach and framework development . In: Business Research . tape 12 , no. 2 , December 2019, ISSN  2198-3402 , p. 479-522 , doi : 10.1007 / s40685-018-0069-z ( springer.com [accessed December 30, 2019]).
  2. ↑ Briant, Emma. Propaganda and counter-terrorism: Strategies for global change . Oxford University Press. "Information overload can have the same effect as secrecy and certainly in the short term and for democracies today it might be considered more effective." "When information overload occurs, it is likely that a reduction in decision quality will occur." "The glut of information generated by modern technology [...] threatens to make its receivers passive. Overload prompts disengagement."
  3. ^ Briant Emma: Propaganda and counter-terrorism: Strategies for global change . Oxford University Press, 2015, ISBN 978-1-84779-962-3 ( com.ph [accessed April 7, 2019]).
  4. ^ Rainer Mausfeld: Why are the lambs silent? How elite democracy and neoliberalism destroy our society and our livelihoods , Westend, Frankfurt am Main 2018, p. 32 ff., 39–42.
  5. ↑ Often cited study on the spread of "fake news" was itself wrong - derStandard.de. Retrieved April 7, 2019 (Austrian German).
  6. ^ Sandra Schaffert, Diana Wieden-Bischof: Successful development of online communities. Concepts, scenarios and recommendations for action. Salzburg Research Forschungsgesellschaft, Saltzburg 2009, ISBN 978-3-902448-13-2 , p. 38. Available as a preview at Google books , accessed on April 14, 2011
  7. ↑ Timo Beck: Web 2.0: User-Generated Contend in Online Communities. A theoretical and empirical investigation of its determinants. Diplomica Verlag, Hamburg 2007, ISBN 978-3-8366-5492-0 , pp. 24-27. Available as a preview on Google Books , accessed April 14, 2011
  8. ^ Richard Sennett: The culture of the new capitalism. Berlin Verlag, Berlin 2005, ISBN 3-8270-0600-7 , p. 136.