Information Overload Day occurs annually on October 20. As the name implies, today is a day to reflect on the massive quantity of information that enters our lives every single day. Social media, online news, emails, and text messages all contribute to the constant deluge of information that we are exposed to. We permit ourselves to take a vacation on this day.
The background of Information Overload Day
Information Overload Day was established in 2009 by analyst Jonathan Spira in response to the “Problem of the Year” designation of information excess by his research firm, Basex. The organisation proclaimed August 12 “Information Overload Awareness Day” in an effort to increase public consciousness regarding the matter.
Spira also established the Information Overload Research Group (IORG), an organization that contributed as a sponsor for the occasion. On its inaugural commemoration, the day attracted the participation of 350 employees hailing from over 30 countries across the globe in an online activity. Since its relocation to October 20 in 2010, Information Overload Day has been observed on that date.
Information overflow is a term that has been defined by Encyclopedia.com as “excessive quantities and flows of data or information that may result in adverse consequences on a computational, physical, psychological, and social level.” When an individual is inundated with a substantial volume of information, it may impair their capacity to effectively process matters. The concept was initially introduced in 1964 in the book “The Managing of Organizations” by political science professor Bertram Gross. But it wasn’t until the 1970 publication of “Future Shock” by futurist and author Alvin Toffler that the term gained widespread recognition.
In the contemporary digital age, information is readily accessible to all individuals. A major contributor to information overload is the enormous pressure to produce new and intriguing information, combined with the vast variety of media through which it is disseminated. Each of us encounters the pressure to be recognized and to know something on a regular basis. Day of Information Overload serves as a prompt to detach and return to fundamentals.
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Five peculiar facts regarding information overload
- As of January 2019, there were more than two billion domains on the internet.
- Scientific research More than 1.8 million publications devoted to scientific research are published annually.
- Monthly, Facebook users devote an average of 19.5 hours to the application.
- The BBC and “The New York Times” each published over 10,000 articles in a single week.
- 33% of millennials, according to Carat, depend on social media recommendations from their peers rather than conducting their own online research.
INFORMATION OVERLOAD DAY DATES
Year | Date | Day |
---|---|---|
2023 | October 20 | Friday |
2024 | October 20 | Sunday |
2025 | October 20 | Monday |
2026 | October 20 | Tuesday |
2027 | October 20 | Wednesday |