Information Overload

The deep, existential information anxiety felt in the dark hearts of the digitally-exposed as they brave the merciless winds of swirling data : alternatively, might be a term (like data smog) clearly cooked up by accursed Boomers who find new media difficult to adapt to their antiquated systems of thought.

^{This would, for example, explain the massive explosion of filtering software and personalizing services; as a way for information workers and consumers to cope. For a corporate perspective though, this might be profitable, for basic human concerns such as privacy have already been commodified for the information age.}

"...human consciousness has always been characterized by by some degree of filtration. We deal with information by sifting and sorting it, using taxonomies, technologies and other social and cognitive constructs...the precision of digital technologies however, raises the impact of filtering to a different level, the ability to exercise nearly complete control over experience...what we might unwittingly bring about, in other words, is nothing less than the privatization of experience." A. Shapiro. The Control Revolution (NY : Century, 1999)

Sources:

• Shenk, David, 1966- Data smog : surviving the information glut (San Francisco, Calif. : Harper Edge, 1997)
• Wurman, Richard Saul, 1935- Information anxiety. (New York : Doubleday, 1989)

The eighth song on Living Colour's second album, Time's Up. The information in this song, the information that's overloading the character, seems to be the continued disproportionate disbursement of wealth and power in the world, along with the ever increasing dehumanizing effect of technology. This song is highlighted by some very noisy guitar work on the part of expert sound architect, Vernon Reid.