What is infobesity?
As the word itself suggests, it is a combination of information and obesity, which means overload of information from various sources. It goes without saying that in today’s world, you spend a lot of time in front of screen. Computers, laptops, smartphones and of course TVs are the sources that keep you bombarding with information you may not necessarily need. Just like overeating makes you obese, unnecessary consumption of information makes you infobese. An average American, whether he stays in New York or San Francisco, consumes approx. 34 GB of information everyday and the result is obvious, infobesity.
Effects of infobesity?
Stress – First and foremost, infobesity is one of the major causes of stress, especially in the corporate world.
Delay in decision making– When you are overburdened with a lot of data, you will need additional time to filter the data you actually need. This is obviously going to consume additional time which will result in delayed decisions. Surprisingly, some 43% of senior managers are infobese across the globe From New York to New Delhi.
Effect on relationships– If you spend more time in front of PC than with your spouse or family members, the relationships are bound to impacted. Infobesity is one of the silent reasons of growing number of divorces.
Useless printed materials– A majority of businesses still rely on printed information. A lot of printed materials are produced that are neither read nor used.
Physical health- Last but not the least, spending more time in front of screen weakens your eye-sight, causes headache and loss of sound sleep, which have serious impact on your overall health condition and quality of life.
In our upcoming posts, we’ll take a look at how to minimise or offset the side effects of infobesity.
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