Information Overload

        By Claudia Lynch, Benchmarks Editor (lynch@unt.edu)

        Well, it's official. If you feel besieged by information, have problems concentrating, suffer from low morale, feel unmotivated, and are pretty darn irritated, you may well be suffering from Information Fatigue Syndrome. That's the term psychologists have coined to describe an illness that is affecting more and more people worldwide, according to an article published in the April 15, 1997 "SCI-TECH" section of CNN Interactive. There are physical aspects to the illness as well: digestive problems, hypertension, and sleep disorders.

        The cause of this malady? You guessed it - the Internet. People are being bombarded with so much information that they are having trouble making decisions. They keep waiting for more data.

        The good news, according to the CNN article, is that there are ways of coping with information overload. Recommendations include: Learn to pace yourself; Take breaks to give your brain time to absorb information; Know when to skim and when to study.

        While Benchmarks may contribute to your information overload, it can also provide strategies for finding and processing information that will be beneficial to you. We hope the articles in this issue, many highlighting various aspects of the World Wide Web, will fall into the "beneficial" category for you.

        "Experts: Information onslaught bad for your health" http:www.cnn.com/TECH/9704/15/info.overload/index.html.

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