Everyday Musings > Stop Press!

Eggs are good for health. Eggs must be avoided. There are nine planets. Pluto is no longer a planet. Eat fewer meals to lose weight. Eat more meals to lose weight. Invest. Don't invest. Jog. Jogging is bad for knees. Wash your hair till it is squeaky clean. If its squeaky clean it means you've used too much shampoo.

Pick up the newspaper or a scientific journal or surf the TV and chances are they contradict themselves every day. What do we believe? What is the source of all our information? What makes us believe in wrong and right? Are books sacred, is the written word God? Were all the authors unbiased and factual? What makes us believe and have faith in the infallibility of our fellow beings when it comes to information? Especially today when we're being buried in it.

New information is being created every second. the latest gossip, which is the best phone to buy, what's the next big trend, the state of politics, celebrity scandals. A few decades ago, we had limited sources of information - grandma's home remedies were the same in all households, as was DD and news. But with 100 channels, a shrinking world and the internet blossoming with more than 70 million blogs and 150 million websites, we are now so over informed about every point of view that we are usually unsure of what or don't care what we believe in anymore. As Barry Schwartz says 'Freedom of choice eventually becomes a tyranny of choice'.

In 2007, the Associated Press hired a research company called Context to conduct an in-depth study of young-adult news consumption around the world. What was thought to be a fun research turned in this - "The abundance of news and ubiquity of choice do not necessarily translate into a better news environment for consumers." Participants in this study showed signs of news fatigue; they appeared debilitated by information overload and unsatisfying news experiences. . . Ultimately news fatigue brought many of the participants to a learned helplessness response.

According to Wikipedia sources, an article in the New Scientist magazine claimed that exposing individuals to an information overloaded environment resulted in lower IQ scores than exposing individuals to marijuana. The same article also noted that a night without sleep can be as debilitating as over-exposure to information.

Every news channel runs at least two simultaneous stories, if not more, at once. One is the visual content, and the second is the ticker that runs at the bottom. I find it so distracting, and am often unable to focus on what's being shown. And thus never remember what I read or saw. It is usually a haze, unless its breaking news and everyone is playing the same clips again and again and I remember it, like an ad, due to sheer repetition and sensationalism.

In this new crazy world, instead of organising information into entertainment and news and family supplements or channels or products, and feeding us with everything from lost dogs to Big Boss gossip to primetime horoscopes on news, I wish the media would focus and find a way to make news matter. My main prayers being for news channels. Slow down. And think outside the idiot box.