I’ve always loved reading and finding out new novel bits of information, so the Internet has been a bit of a drug for me.

I was drinking in content without limits; I was soon consuming it all the time. And I mean, all the time. I will put on headphones and listen to podcasts while I go for a walk. I fall asleep to a podcast or an audiobook.

I even listen to something while I am showering!

I knew that my content consumption was out of hand, unbalanced, and unhealthy, but I couldn’t seem to stop myself. Yet, when I thought about limiting the content I take in, I get anxious! Now, if that’s not the sign of addiction I don’t know what is.

As I searched for a solution to my problem I came across the words “information diet”. It turns out people have been talking about this problem for a few years.

Too much information

We’re the most informed generation of all time. Yet, this information overload (also called “infoxication”, “infobesity” and data smog) is a huge source of stress.

There’s a flood of information besieging us daily. A lot of us consume news on autopilot, mindlessly clicking on social media posts and websites, reading random bits of information that are often incomplete or contradictory. This mindless consumption of media can be detrimental to our mental health.

Simply put, our brains cannot cope with the huge influx of information and this deluge actually leaves a physical impact on our brains:

• Mental fog (cognitive overload)
• Difficulty in making decisions (processing information takes energy. Making decisions takes energy tooy)
• Depleted willpower, which makes it harder to stay motivated to work towards our goals
• Shattered focus
• Impaired critical thinking skills
• It triggers anxiety or aggravates existing anxiety. There’s even a term for this: “Information anxiety”, the kind of anxiety we experience when we can’t find the information we want or cannot interpret the influx of data. (Source: A few thoughts on cognitive overload)

How to stem the tide

As a reaction to the information deluge, several “resistance movements” have sprung up. “The Slow Media Manifesto”, aimed at producers of content, exhorted for the creation of slower-paced, more thoughtful content.

Then there’s the “low information diet”, favoured by Americans who lean towards eliminating or limiting the consumption of content. It’s advocated by influencers such as Tim Ferris who describes it as “cultivating selective ignorance”.

As someone who wants to be as informed as possible, this doesn’t sit well with me. I mean, during COVID-19 times, is it a good idea to be wilfully ignorant of lockdowns, health hazards, travel restrictions and safety regulations?

I personally experienced the negative side effects when, at the peak of the chaos of 2020, I chose to stop reading the news. As a result, I nearly missed the chance to save thousands by claiming the PENJANA tax relief! So, no, eliminating news altogether isn’t a good idea.

Europeans, apparently, tend to focus on curating quality, which is a better approach to me.

According to people like Cal Newport, author of one of my favourite books, Deep Work, and Rolf Dobelli, who wrote Stop Reading the News, we should maximise the quality of what we consume and the conditions under which we consume it.

To ensure that your consumption of media is a high-quality experience you can:

• Focus on high-quality sources (getting the news from magazines instead of social media)
• Focus on high-quality writers and on just a few writers rather than all (if that’s even possible)
• Be intentional when and where we consume content. Personally, I have a weekly ritual where I go to a coffee shop and read a week’s worth (or more) of my favourite magazines on Scribd and blog writers fed to my Feedly via RSS.
• Read content that doesn’t just support your point of view but against it to get a richer experience.

I will add one more point.

After consuming the information, we should make a point to write facts that impact us the most, the quotes, the learnings and the ideas in capturing tool such as a commonplace journal to ensure we remember and absorb it.

How’s your information diet?