The abundance of information and scarcity of knowledge
"Too much of anything is good for nothing"
People living before the advent of the internet had very limited access to information and it was harder to gain deep knowledge on any topic and opinions on any subject were limited to experts on that particular subject. We faced information scarcity, the lack of adequate information.
With the development of technology and the internet, the problem of information scarcity is gone. Now we have unlimited access to all kinds of information on any given topic at our fingertips. And yet we face a very different problem today. The problem of abundance. Now we have an abundance of information but the ability to learn and gain knowledge from that information is getting harder.
Today, although the rate of consumption of information is at its highest, the amount of knowledge gained and retained has been reducing. We consume so much content through social media, blog posts, news, videos, etc. that it is very hard to make sense of what is important and what's not.
Much of the information that we consume on the internet is just noise that gives us very little insight into any topic. With too much content thrown at us, it becomes hard to cut through the noise and focus on the signal. And that is one of the biggest reasons hindering our productivity. We consume too much but fail to learn, retain and act on that information.
Barry Schwartz, in his excellent book 'The Paradox of Choice', explains how an increasing number of choices makes decision-making harder when compared to making decisions with limited choices. The same concept is applicable when consuming information as the more unnecessary content you consume, the more cluttered your mind is going to be. The internet and social media are a goldmine of useful information when consumed correctly and to the right extent.
So it is important to have an information diet. Just like how we avoid junk food to keep our body fit, the same idea should be applied when consuming information to keep our minds fit. Curate the content you consume through videos, blogs, newsletters, etc, and follow only those people and pages who provide you with valuable/actionable insights that you can act on. That way you can gain more knowledge, save time, and will be able to act on that knowledge that you gained.
The most important thing of all is to start creating new and valuable content yourself instead of just consuming endless information. This shows how much you've understood about a certain topic. You learn the most when you explain something to others. The internet is a better place only when we exchange useful, valuable, and creative ideas with each other.
Spotting 'Junk' information/content on the internet
Always rely on opinions that are backed by facts, deep research, and stats & avoid content that makes assumptions intuitively.
Make sure to subscribe to content where you learn something new every time you read/watch/listen to their content.
Never subscribe to creators who are not open to constructive criticism.
Stop following people who become "experts" on all trending topics.
Instantly block/unsubscribe people/content that spread hatred and negativity.