I confess: I am a news junkie. And while being informed is a good thing, I have found that too much of a good thing can be very bad. My immersion in cable news networks, major newspapers and Web headlines usually leaves me more overwhelmed than inspired. I actually wouldn't mind having more filters in place to highlight what I really need to know as opposed to what my insatiable curiosity finds interesting.
Apparently, I'm not alone. One DC-area blogger/author writes eloquently about the ways our brains might be struggling under the onslaught of modern life. In the August 24 edition of The Washington Post, Dusty Horwitt writes about the ways info-overload can undermine our democracy. His article asks, "If Everyone's Talking, Who Will Listen?" and notes that "the average visitor to newspaper Web sites stops by for just 1.5 minutes per day..."
What does this have to do with compassionate action, you ask? We can't respond to others if we don't even notice them. Permanently plugged into ipods and cell phones, we're oblivious to the hungry person on the sidewalk. Mesmerized by celebrity gossip, we pass by the documentary about genocide. Frenetically texting our way into the store, we let the door shut on the person behind us. We phone while driving, IM while channel-surfing, snap photos instead of seeing the subtleties right in front of our faces. When do we ever pause to pay attention to family, friends and strangers who have stepped off of our electronic canvas?
The Post article points out that you can't even help yourself by making your own voice heard amid the din. We're told that the Internet has opened up democracy, providing a platform for anyone who can post, blog or Digg. But generating messages is just the first step. To have an impact, you must be seen or heard. And we're all making that a lot harder.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Your Attention, Please
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
1 comment:
Just turn it off. Even those who depend on immediate information for thier livelyhood have periods during the day were nothing is happening. Like the cell phones how much information can one person have to keep talking constently from the time the sun come up till the time the sun goes down? Sitting in front of a man made machine spitting out man made information and entertainment does nothing to put things into perspective like sitting by a stream in the shade of a tree and just listening and watching. The grass will continue to grow, the birds will continue to find the seeds, the animals will find the water and you have nothing to do with it. All you have to do is leave it alone and just sit there watchng and listening.
Post a Comment