Never before has humanity been subjected to such an amount and variety of information as it is today. Among the terms that have been born in recent years, we have one that is increasingly common: Infoxication. It is the condition and reality in which every day more people reach points of information overload through various media.
Before the development of the Internet, when a human being needed some information they had to go searching for it, today it is the information that searches for us, it is enough to type a word in the search engine. Google and they will bombard us with advertising information, messages and recommendations related to it.
How can we avoid becoming ‘intoxicated’ with so much information?
Well, Neuroscience tells us about one of the most important and interesting brain processes in the human brain: attention.
The world around us exists independently of our will and constantly sends us thousands of stimuli of which only those of us who pay attention are aware, so we can say that the world that really exists for us is the one to which we pay attention. .
Hasn’t it happened to you that someone has been sharing the same scenario where you are for a long time and you have never noticed it until one day, due to some situation, you meet and from that moment on you always detect each other? Incredible, right? Above all, knowing that that person always existed, just not for you.
We must then ‘pay attention to what we pay attention to’, especially because attention is one of the processes that consumes the most brain energy, this explains why if we are tired despite sitting down to watch our favorite Netflix series, it is very difficult for us. pay attention to it and we even fall asleep!!!
Shall I share some suggestions to avoid Infoxication?
1st- Knowing what type of information content interests us, this helps us more easily filter the information that reaches us and the attention we give it.
2nd-Within the information that interests me, establishing attentional priorities from the point of view of the short, medium or long-term usefulness or benefit that we can obtain from it, example: this news is interesting, however, it will not be useful for me now but in 6 months, because I already know where I can access it when I need it.
3rd-Consult the veracity of the sources of the information that we pay attention to, thus we establish attentional filters, for example, on this topic I only pay attention to information that comes from these specific issuers.
4th-Consider the power we give to the information that catches our attention in terms of how it can influence our thoughts, beliefs, emotions and behaviors.
5th and no less important, giving value to our attention because it is one of the most significant resources we have, since everything that is in our attention focus will exist and will condition our thoughts, my emotions and behaviors in life.
We must be able to control the type, quantity and quality of the information that reaches us so that it is not what controls the type and quality of our lives. I believe that one of the greatest freedoms that a human being can enjoy in his life is to choose the direction of his attentional focus.
Thank you for paying attention to this article because from now on I begin to exist for you and I hope for a long time to come.
By: Osvaldo Torres CruzMaster in Neurosciences and Founding Director of Experience Hospitality Consulting, special for