Information Overloaded Minds

There was a time when knowledge was a source of light, wisdom and inner peace.

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It elevated human beings, sharpened their judgment and opened doors to reflection and understanding. But in the present digital age, knowledge has taken on a very different character. Nowadays, it has become a source of burden and pressure. Every time we get a notification, a news alert, a video suggestion or a forwarded message; we find ourselves suffocating in a flood of information. What was once a lamp in the darkness has now become a weight on the mind. This is the modern condition experts call as 'information overload' which is a new challenge for the human brain. Information overload means that a person receives so much information at once that the brain can't process it all. A person afflicted with this state not only becomes confused but loses the ability to distinguish truth from falsehood, separate necessary from unnecessary. In the present digital times, we have all now become victims of this 'information overload' which is quietly reshaping the way we think, feel and live. The problem begins the moment we open our eyes early in the morning. Before we even rise from bed, many of us reach for our smart phones, only to be assaulted by a cascade of news stories, WhatsApp forwards, social media updates, emails and promotional messages. What should be a calm entry into the day becomes an instant plunge into chaos. The brain which is still half asleep, is forced to process a dozen competing signals at once. By the time the day has properly begun, our mental energy is already depleted and cognitive power exhausted.