Detecting deception, the things that are stealing peace setting the world at unrest increasing the gap-breaking boundaries isn’t war, poverty, or polarity but perhaps its disinformation. Paradoxically, information overload can lead to a less-informed population.

It’s poverty in a rich man to despise the poor,

And Ignorance in a wise man to despise the ignorant. 

Ignorance is an enemy, even to its owner,

Knowledge is a friend, even to its hater.

Better be unborn than untaught, for ignorance is the root of misfortune quoted Plato centuries ago. 

I remember these quotes that I often encountered during my educational days that always pushed me to be more aware and to dig down more into reading & watching current affairs. Perhaps that was the priority then and a well-proven gateway to be progressive and successful impacting one’s growth development and quality of living. 

And now the reality is the inverse if you wanna be healthy the message is: “Mind Your Mental Health”, Stay Away From The News, Current affairs and the Internet.

The question is why suddenly so many health reports surfacing projecting the negative implication of information than its benefits? Perhaps because the fact is a person’s peace or plight both are the outcomes of the mind, and for the mind, information is the food. Can you relate now? Comprehend what overeating does to you? 

Yes with the emergence of the internet, the indulgence of people with digital devices has increased, to the level that it’s now impacting the overall health of an individual and also the quality of life. The research data reveals, on average a common person spends 7 hr of their day on the internet. During the pandemic what was the necessity is now has turned into a habit. Habit to keep the mind feeding, for which we look into more information. 

We searched why people come over the internet. Topping the list is the most popular reason: for “finding information”. 

The point to ponder is why the human brain is hungry for information. 

You know, what separates us, humans, from animals is our curious and creative minds. To the brain, information has its reward, above and beyond whether it’s useful,” says co-author and associate professor Ming Hsu PhD. To our brains, information feels good but may not be useful, as is called idle curiosity. Humans are innately happy, curious, creative, and peaceful beings.

You love to stay busy doing the same thing each day. 

Turning to a corrode cognate

People are busy but aren’t active, 

People are rich but have no time to breathe, 

Having possession but ain’t able to cherish em,

Curious but unable to make the meaning, 

Lonely, and silent but aren’t at peace. 

All in search seeking solace and happiness, loading information that isn’t leading anywhere but adds anxiety, stress, dissatisfaction, and helplessness. Happiness is what people strive for but do not realize is, being not satisfied is the major cause of sadness and negativity which is on the rise. 

The study of recent times suggests what makes people happy is a satisfied good life, a life of contentment, good health, relationships, and a safe environment to live in. Unfortunately, the projection of the commercial world has made us believe, having more money to spend, living with more comfort, more pleasure, and more consumption is a good life, a happy life, all that fall back on the face leaving people confused and puzzled.  

What if I tell you the reason for your unhappiness could be your curious brain that feeds on every piece of information? Yes, you read it right, it’s information. Information overload is not just consuming a lot of information, but consuming so much, from so many different sources, that it negatively impacts your judgment, well-being, and quality of life.

Researchers measure information overload in terms of feelings of being overwhelmed or having difficulty concentrating or making decisions. Mr. Lyn Robinson and David Bawden call information overload: a “ situation which arises when there is so much information available that it becomes a hindrance rather than a help, even if it’s valuable and authentic.” 

In such a state disinformation too gets space to root in. Information overload erodes the ability of an individual to distinguish high-quality information from its opposite, causing falsehoods to propagate. Information overload gives space to load disinformation making difficulty in decision-making and that familiar sense of going down a rabbit hole and losing a significant chunk of time without quite knowing how it happened. 

Paradoxically, information overload can lead to a less-informed/ disinformed population. Similarly, over consumption of information may distort people’s perceptions, especially in an information environment that emphasizes inflammatory stories that drive engagement.

So as important as taking a break from your devices, subscribing to print publications helps to put physical limits on your consumption and to remove your news intake from the sources like social media, which is the major source of disinformation that disrupts your peace suggest reports.

When you constantly feed on news on war, polarization, disrupted supply chains, millions of people falling into poverty, and climate crises all causing suffering in reverence to people’s plight, life appears miserable. It’s enough bomb material to disrupt your peace, make you feel hopeless, and even take you on a guilt trip. 

The fact is it’s neither war nor poverty, climate stress, or polarity that is stealing peace infusing hate, fear, and intolerance but it’s disinformation that is widening the gap, collapsing the efforts, and escalating unrest. The need of the hour is for the government and agencies to challenge funding & research that negate reasons, killing time and resources, energy harnessing profits spreading and infusing disinformation.

Your share too can play a great role to cut down the information surplus, perhaps sharpening your powers of discernment “Daily,”. Daniel Levitin, a professor of psychology and behavioral neuroscience says “the onslaught of information is preventing us from being evidence-based decision-makers, at our own peril.” 

Disrupt Disinformation with education, you know the big giants are overloading people with information keeping them busy and killing creativity? 

The strongest tool to fight misinformation is educating the population and raising awareness. Moreover, providing good education and awareness among youths is necessary. Education is the key to raise the skilled youth increasing employment opportunities and also helps in understanding different perspectives, people can learn to be more tolerant and accepting of others. 

Education and awareness also help people to be more open-minded and to develop their own opinions on the matter. Through education and awareness, people can learn to be more respectful and understanding of others, which will help to reduce polarization in society.

Education and awareness are indeed key to fighting disinformation and cognitive bias making the population more self-reliant and also helping people learn how to identify and analyze information objectively and critically, so they can more easily recognize and reject false or biased information. 

Awareness can help people become more conscious of their own biases and how they affect their views and decisions. Additionally, educational programs and campaigns can help people understand how disinformation and polarization are used to manipulate public opinion and how to protect themselves from it. Finally, education and awareness can help people understand the importance of fact-checking and the power of responsible media consumption.

The big giants of the tech industry are overloading people with information by bombarding them with ads, notifications, and emails, and constantly updating their products and services. This leads to people becoming overwhelmed and unable to focus on tasks that require creativity. 

The abundance of information also leads people to feel like they have to keep up with the latest news and trends, leaving little time for creative pursuits. Additionally, the pressure to stay up-to-date can lead people to feel like they need constantly to be on their phones or computers, which can lead to the feel stress and exhaustion.

Education and awareness can help to create a peaceful, tolerant, and harmonious society, but unfortunately, education and awareness are also being used to spread disinformation the cause of unrest and hate. The spread of hate and disinformation is often driven by individuals or groups who have an agenda to manipulate public opinion and sow discord. 

The internet, social media, and other digital platforms have made it easier for these groups to spread their messages and reach a wider audience. To combat this, governments, civil society organizations, and educational institutions must work together to ensure that education and awareness initiatives are used to promote tolerance, understanding, and peace. Additionally, individuals must take responsibility for the information they consume, verify sources, and be mindful of the potential for manipulation and disinformation.

Poverty, war, and hate are all complex issues having deep roots and far-reaching consequences. Poverty is the outcome of a  variety of factors such as unequal access to resources, lack of education, inadequate infrastructure, and lack of access to credit. War is often the result of political, economic, and social tensions between nations or groups. It can also be caused by religious or ideological differences. 

Hate is an emotion that can be caused by fear, ignorance, or a lack of understanding. It can lead to violence, discrimination, and other forms of oppression. All of these issues are interconnected and require a holistic approach to address. The point to ponder is from where all hate, discrimination, widening in differences, sense of insecurity is coming. 

Solutions must be rooted in understanding the causes and addressing them with policies that promote economic and social justice, education, and access to resources. As said by Mark Twain: A lie travels around the world before the truth gets its boots on.” 

Awareness is knowledge and wisdom is comprehending what can be done and up to what limit. Rabbit hole ceases all and steals peace. Wars can’t be fought alone and knowing what to fight for grants & not consume energy. Prevent yourself from the rabbit hole.  

The urge to lead a good life and happy life but what we find within and around is that people aren’t happy. The quality of life is falling. Contentment and compassion care are missing, competition chases race, intolerance, envy, and hate are rising. 

So for you to be healthy, happy, and active the need is to bunk all the reasons that cause stress, insecurity, and anxiety in the name of loading information and the gateway is the internet. More information is a kind of paradox that leads to disinformation because it leads to poor cognitive executive function. 

 

Don’t Be Led By Bias. Be Aware AND Beware Of Information Traps.

 

 

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