If you’re reading these lines in your RSS reader or in the middle of the night, chances are that you have already contracted IOS:
Information Overload Syndrome
Anyway, it’s an occupational hazard (addiction?) in our line of work…
What about for students or faculty? Has the Information Overload Syndrome also become an alarming reality for those studying, teaching and researching in higher education institutions?
After reading Maryanne George’s article in Detroit Free Press, parents might want to lock their kids far away from any computers or other connected devices.
In “INTERNET DOMINATES CAMPUS LIFE: Lots of computer time, little of it for academics,” she explains that, “although alcohol is often blamed for low grades on campus, it ranked last in a 2004 survey by the American College Health Association of the top 10 impediments to academic performance. Only 8 percent of students on 74 campuses said alcohol got in the way of their studies, compared to 13 percent who reported computer gaming and Internet surfing as a problem.”
Students aren’t the only affected by IOS on campus. Actually, they may have passed the bug to faculty members…
Jeffrey R. Young reports in “Knowing When to Log Off,” an article published this week in The Chronicle of Higher Education that, “Mr. Levy, a professor at the University of Washington’s Information School, is one of many scholars trying to raise awareness of the negative impact of communication technologies on people’s lives and work. They say the quality of research and teaching at colleges is at risk unless scholars develop strategies for better managing information, and for making time for extensive reading and contemplation.
Agree? Disagree? Find out what some in academia think by reading the transcript of the live chat with David M. Levy organized by The Chronicle on April 21, 2005.
