{"id":5986,"date":"2012-09-02T14:06:09","date_gmt":"2012-09-02T18:06:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/?p=5986"},"modified":"2012-09-03T17:07:53","modified_gmt":"2012-09-03T21:07:53","slug":"study-suggests-idea-of-information-overload-may-be-an-exaggeration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/2012\/09\/study-suggests-idea-of-information-overload-may-be-an-exaggeration\/","title":{"rendered":"Study suggests idea of “information overload” may be an exaggeration"},"content":{"rendered":"

From the Northwestern University press release by Erin White:<\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cInformation overload\u201d may be an exaggerated way to describe today\u2019s always-on media environment.<\/strong> Actually, very few Americans seem to feel bogged down or overwhelmed by the volume of news and information at their fingertips and on their screens, according to a new Northwestern University study.<\/p>\n

The study was published in the journal The Information Society<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cLittle research has focused on information overload and media consumption, yet it\u2019s a concept used in public discussions to describe today\u2019s 24\/7 media environment,\u201d said Eszter Hargittai, an associate professor of communication studies at Northwestern and lead author of the study.<\/p>\n

Most of the previous literature on information overload dynamics has involved fighter pilots or battlefield commanders.<\/p>\n

To better understand how everyday Americans perceive the amount of information available through traditional and new media, researchers recruited vacationers in Las Vegas to participate in focus groups. Seven focus groups were conducted with 77 total participants from around the country. The, small informal nature of the focus groups helped to reveal participants\u2019 strategies for finding news, entertainment and gossip.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe found that the high volume of information available these days seems to make most people feel empowered and enthusiastic<\/strong>,\u201d Hargittai said. \u201cPeople are able to get their news and information from a diverse set of sources and they seem to like having these options.\u201d<\/p>\n

Most of the participants said television was their most used form of media, followed closely by websites. When asked how they felt about the amount of information available to them, few mentioned feeling overwhelmed or that they suffered from \u201cinformation overload.\u201d Here are highlights of the responses:<\/p>\n