Ch. 2--Understanding InfoWhelm

Help! I have IDD! There is a good chance that you have information dysfunction disorder as well. The amount of information that bombards us today has increased dramatically, thanks to advances in mail delivery, television and radio broadcasting, telephone services, book, newspaper and magazine publication, and the internet (Jukes, Dosaj, & Macdonald, 2000, p. 6). As a result, many people are suffering from anxiety and guilt over an inability to keep up with all of the information flowing into their lives. They may have too much to do and too little time to do it in. They may be surrounded by piles of information in the form of unread mail, books, magazines, and newspapers. They often know what information they need, but are unable to find it.

People respond to this information overwhelm in different ways. The "informationally oblivious" don't know they have a problem. They have lost their ability to evaluate information sources for validity, and willingly accept almost anything they see, hear, or read. The "informationally paralyzed" are aware that there is much that they need to know, but are overcome by the sheer volume of information or by the technology needed to retrieve it. They don't have the skills to use the tools, or to find the needed information, or to process any information they do access. Finally, the "informationally dyslexic" know they have an information problem, and have some skills to be able to solve it. Unfortunately, their skills are not very precise, and if they are able to find the information they need once, they may not be able to duplicate that success. If they do find the information, they are often unable to evaluate and apply it appropriately (Jukes, Dosaj, & Macdonald, 2000, p. 7).

The first step to curing IDD is admitting there is a problem. Because the world of information has changed so drastically, we must all learn a new set of skills in order to cope. We must practice these skills in the same way we practiced what we learned in driver's ed--we eventually got to the point where we could drive with very little conscious thought. As educators, we must introduce technology skills to students early on, so they have plenty of opportunity to practice evaluating and applying information before they get into the "real world." If we do this successfully, our students will be immune to the "infowhelm" that is paralyzing many adults today.

Jukes, I., Dosaj, A., Macdonald, B. (2000). net.savvy: Building information literacy in the classroom (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, Inc.